Abstract
In order to investigate which mechanisms the epiphyllous moss Crossomitrium patrisiae employs to overcome the typical constraints of dioicy in light of its spatially isolated habitat, we tested the predictions that high fertilization rates are achieved due to (1) high rates of sexual expression, (2) balanced sex ratios, and (3) high co-occurrence of both sexes in the same colony (leaf). Seven hundred and ninety-seven ramets were studied for total length, presence, and number of gametoecia and number of fertilized perichaetia in the female according to spatial segregation at leaf- and shrub-scales. High rates of sexual expression (76%) were confirmed. The other two predictions, however, were not upheld as C. patrisae exhibited a strong male bias (0·43 ♀∶1 ♂ at ramet level, n = 604). Despite considerable spatial segregation (co-occurrence of sexes was seen in 36·7% of shrubs and 12·8% of colonies), this species revealed one of the highest fertilization rates ever reported for a dioicous bryophyte at three spatial scales: nearly 90% of the mixed colonies bore sporophytes, 40% of all female ramets, and 74% of female ramets occurring in mixed colonies bore sporophytes. Thus, the relative rareness of females may be a phenotypic response due to heavy investment in sporophyte maturation as demonstrated by the high fertilization success of females. High rates of sexual expression and the occurrence of fertilization in nearly all cases of coincidence of sexes in common colonies, with low levels of abortion, contribute to the sexual reproductive success and, subsequently, the long-term survival of this species.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Sexual expression was high in Crossomitrium patrisiae, with 76% of ramets sexually expressed.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- sexual expressione0
- Value
- 76%e0
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e0“High rates of sexual expression (76%) were confirmed”
Claim · model-written summary
Crossomitrium patrisiae showed a strong male bias, with 0.43 females per male at ramet level.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- male biase1
- Value
- 0·43 ♀∶1 ♂e1
- Qualifier
- at ramet levele1
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e1“C. patrisae exhibited a strong male bias (0·43 ♀∶1 ♂ at ramet level, n = 604)”
Claim · model-written summary
Nearly 90% of mixed colonies bore sporophytes.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- bore sporophytese2
- Value
- nearly 90%e2
- Qualifier
- of the mixed coloniese2
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e2“nearly 90% of the mixed colonies bore sporophytes, 40% of all female ramets, and 74% of female ramets occurring in mixed colonies bore sporophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
40% of all female ramets bore sporophytes.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- bore sporophytese2
- Value
- 40%e2
- Qualifier
- of all female rametse2
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e2“nearly 90% of the mixed colonies bore sporophytes, 40% of all female ramets, and 74% of female ramets occurring in mixed colonies bore sporophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
74% of female ramets in mixed colonies bore sporophytes.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- bore sporophytese2
- Value
- 74%e2
- Qualifier
- of female ramets occurring in mixed coloniese2
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e2“nearly 90% of the mixed colonies bore sporophytes, 40% of all female ramets, and 74% of female ramets occurring in mixed colonies bore sporophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
Sexes co-occurred in 36.7% of shrubs.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- co-occurrence of sexese3
- Value
- 36·7% of shrubse3
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e3“co-occurrence of sexes was seen in 36·7% of shrubs and 12·8% of colonies”
Claim · model-written summary
Sexes co-occurred in 12.8% of colonies.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- co-occurrence of sexese3
- Value
- 12·8% of coloniese3
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e3“co-occurrence of sexes was seen in 36·7% of shrubs and 12·8% of colonies”
Claim · model-written summary
The relative rareness of females may be a phenotypic response to heavy investment in sporophyte maturation.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- relative rareness of femalese4
- Qualifier
- heavy investment in sporophyte maturatione4
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e4“the relative rareness of females may be a phenotypic response due to heavy investment in sporophyte maturation”
Claim · model-written summary
Sporophyte abortion was at low levels in Crossomitrium patrisiae.
- Taxon
- Crossomitrium patrisiaeCrossomitrium patrisiaet0
- Outcome
- abortione5
- Qualifier
- low levelse5
Verbatim
t0“Sex ratio, spatial segregation, and fertilization rates of the epiphyllous mossCrossomitrium patrisiae(Brid.) Müll.Hal. in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest”
e5“with low levels of abortion”