FRUIT AND SEED CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODY SPECIES IN MEDITERRANEAN-TYPE REGIONS OF CHILE AND CALIFORNIA
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1989
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Abstract
The distribution and characteristics of propagules of woody species were compared in four community types along a gradient of increasing annual rainfall, between 30.degree. and 38.degree. latitude in Chile and California. The hypothesis tested was that in these two regions climatic constraints determine similar responses in phylogenetically unrelated organisms. The abundance of fleshy fruits less than 15 mm in diameter (corresponding to the syndrome of bird-dispersal), their sizes, and the frequency of black fruits increased from xeric towards mesic communities, both in Chile and in California; the largest variety of fruit colors was found in the evergreen scrub in both regions. These trends support the convergence hypothesis. In contrast, the distribution and characteristics of wind-dispersed propagules and of "small" dry, not wind-dispersed propagules showed different, apparently non-convergent trends, in Chile and California.