Ignacio M.
Pérez-Ramos
1.1 Mast-seeding
A relevant part of my research has been focused in understanding the causes and consequences of the masting phenomenon (i.e. the synchronous, highly variable seed production among years) in Mediterranean woody plant species, for which many questions still remain unanswered.
Thanks to a close collaboration with the research group led by Serge Rambal (CEFE, Montpellier), I analysed a long-term data-set on reproductive and vegetative growth of Quercus ilex in order to identify the main environmental drivers of inter-annual variation in flower and seed production, and contrast the impact of climate vs. adaptive factors as main causes of masting (Ecology 91: 3057-3068).
In 2015, I published a paper (J. Ecol 103: 691-700) in collaboration with W. D. Koenig (Cornell University, EEUU), where we reviewed the literature on environmental drivers of mast-seeding in Mediterranean oak species with the principal aim of evaluating whether the identity and magnitude of these drivers differ between evergreen and deciduous species. Results from this study indicate that weather plays a crucial role as a proximate driver of mast-seeding in Mediterranean oaks. Our findings suggest that understanding how species with different functional or phenological attributes adjust their reproductive abilities to weather may enable us to infer the effects of ongoing environmental changes on population recruitment and dynamics.
I have also investigated the causes and consequences for population dynamics of the potentially large between-individual variability in seed production. For this purpose, I quantified seed production over ten consecutive years in two Mediterranean oak species – the deciduous Quercus canariensis and the evergreen Q. suber - that coexist in forests of southern Spain (´Los Alcornocales` Natural Park). In general, results from this study suggest that individual seed production (both in terms of seed productivity and inter-annual variability) is strongly dependent on soil resource heterogeneity, and highlight the necessity of considering this source of variability among individuals given its potential repercussion for recruitment and population dynamics (Plos One 9(12): e115371).
