title: Sexual competition and N supply interactively affect the dimorphism and competiveness of opposite sexes in Populus cathayana.
abstract: Several important dioecious species show sexual spatial segregation (SSS) along environmental gradients that have significant ecological effect on terrestrial ecosystem. However, little attention has been paid to understanding of how males and females respond to environmental gradients and sexual competition. We compared eco-physiological parameters of males and females of Populus cathayana under different sexual competition patterns and nitrogen (N) supply levels. We found that males and females interacting with the same or opposite sex showed significant differences in biomass partition, photosynthetic capacity, carbon (C) and N metabolism, and leaf ultrastructure, and that the sexual differences to competition were importantly driven by N supply. The intersexual competition was enhanced under high N, while the intrasexual competition among females was amplified under low N. Under high N, the intersexual competition stimulated the growth of the females and negatively affected the males. In contrast, under low N, the males exposed to intrasexual competition had the highest tolerance, whereas females exposed to intrasexual competition showed the lowest adaptation among all competition patterns. Sexual competition patterns and N supply levels significantly affected the sexual dimorphism and competitiveness, which may play an important role in spatial segregation of P. cathayana populations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.|Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.|Sichuan Province Key Laboratory of Ecological Security and Protection, Mianyang Normal University, Mianyang, 621000, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China.
authors.forename: Tingfa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Baoli
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Korpelainen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Physiology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, 51014, Estonia.
authors.forename: Ülo
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Niinemets
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Chunyang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D018533:Biomass; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D018526:Plant Transpiration / Q000502:physiology; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000032:analysis; D032107:Populus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D059808:Polyphenols; D002734:Chlorophyll; D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: C and N metabolism; dioecy; photosynthesis capacity; sexual dimorphism; sexual spatial segregation