Somatic, genetic and evolutionary trade-offs between sexual and asexual reproduction in a clonal aquatic plant (Butomus umbellatus)

Trade-offs among traits competing for limited resources are central to the evolution of life histories. In plants that combine sexual and clonal reproduction, it is thought that these two reproductive modes compete for limited resources, resulting in trade-offs between them. I investigated trade-offs between sexual reproduction, clonal reproduction and vegetative growth in a population of the invasive aquatic plant Butomus umbellatus L. (Butomaceae, flowering rush). I used hand pollinations to manipulate investment in sexual reproduction among clonal replicates of genotypes grown under two nutrient regimes.; I investigated whether evolutionary lability was manifested on larger scale by comparing allocation patterns in sexually fertile diploid populations to those rendered obligately clonal by triploidy. I tested the prediction that, compared to fertile populations, sterile populations should show degraded sexual traits but enhanced clonal reproduction and vegetative growth. I also investigated the evolutionary fate of specific sexual traits in sterile populations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...