Population regulation in Bromus rubens and B. mollis: Life cycle components and competition

Abstract

A series of Bromus rubens and B. mollis populations were sampled in the coastal range and northern part of the Central Valley of California in order to study their population ecology in demographic terms. Quantitative estimates were obtained on plants collected directly in nature, and their progenies in controlled environments with randomized block design in the greenhouse.Two parameters of population growth - the intrinsic rate of increase, r, and the carrying capacity, K-were estimated by using the logistic model (r=ln R and K=equilibrium population size). It was found that B. mollis is a relatively K-type species, while B. rubens is a relatively r-type species.The effects of density on competition between individuals in pure and mixed populations of B. mollis and B. rubens were studied. In both species, increasing density induced greater mortality and a striking plastic reduction in the size and reproductive potential of the individuals. Further, B. rubens showed a relatively greater mortality and less plastic response to densities than B. mollis in both pure and mixed stands. Two different types of plasticity were considered: one in response to changing density (d-plasticity); and the other in response to changing enironmental conditions (e-plasticity). High plasticity in one of them need not imply that the other one is high too. B. rubens showed higher e-plasticity, but lower d-plasticity than B. mollis.The relationships between r, K and competitive ability were discussed. Two types of K-strategy were distinguished: one involving greater nonreproductive effort with longer life span, or lowered mortality (Type-I) and the other with density-induced adjustments in body size along with survival in higher numbers (Type-II). Different populations of these two Bromus species showed different values of r and K (Type-II) and different competitive abilities. It was found that higher r was usually accompanied by lower K (Type-II), while higher K (Type-II) was accompanied by lower competitive ability, which in turn is correlated with higher d-plasticity. In general, coexistence was predicted on the basis of estimates derived from the interspecific competition experiments.