LAUSR

PREMISE We investigated sex-specific differences in the life-history traits of a metapopulation of the dioicous moss Weissia jamaicensis. Field observations revealed high rates of fertilization, which is uncommon for most dioicous bryophytes. We raised four hypotheses associated with the way the reproductive traits are related to the fertilization rate in this metapopulation. METHODS We sampled 10 patches of the metapopulation and quantified sexual expression, sex ratio, reproductive success, and reproductive allocation. The ramets were classified as male, non-sporophytic female, sporophytic female and non-sex-expressing. Thirty ramets from each of the categories expressing sex were placed for regeneration for testing the effect of reproductive allocation on this trait. KEY RESULTS We found greater expression of the female function in all patches, implying a female bias in the metapopulation. The number of male ramets was variable in each patch and did not affect reproductive success. At the pre-zygotic level, the allocation of resources to the male function was higher. However, the large allocation of resources to sporophyte development in sporophytic females, which exceeded allocations at pre-zygotic levels, was related to the higher mortality rate of these ramets, suggesting reproductive cost. CONCLUSIONS The prezygotic ramets that allocated the greatest amount of resources to reproduction expressed sex less frequently, biasing the sex ratio towards the sex that allocated the least amount of resources to reproduction. Overall, the ramets that allocated the greatest amount of resources to reproduction had the lowest regeneration rate, suggesting reproductive cost. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.