9520553 Gerhardt Monocarpy, in which plants grow for several years then undergo one, fatal bout of reproduction, should be favored when a plant experiences a disproportionately large gain in fitness by investing all the resources it has available for reproduction at once. Previous research in plants has focused on how monocarpy might benefit the adult plant during its own lifetime through enhanced mating success. The proposed research will test whether monocarpy also confers fitness benefits by allowing plants to provide maternal care or nurse effects that directly increase offspring survival during seedling establishment. This research will enhance basic understanding of how selection on maternal care shapes the life-history attributes of plants. It will be among the first studies to incorporate consideration of parental care into explanations of plant reproductive strategies.
