Masting is a life history strategy in which perennial plants forego reproduction in some years so as to concentrate resources for reproduction in a subsequent year. The biological reason for masting is not known, but one possibility is that it is a response to seed herbivory. Published mathematical models of masting describe masting patterns, with a particular focus on the synchronization of masting behavior among individuals in a population. However, these models do not address the life history question of what conditions can make masting an optimal strategy. At the same time, life history models have been used to address the question of how environmental conditions can favor a perennial reproductive strategy over an annual strategy. However, these models do not predict masting. In this talk, we consider a life history model in which the environmental conditions explicitly include the extent of possible seed herbivory during the dormant season.
Results/Conclusions
The new life history model predicts (1) that masting will be the optimal strategy if seed herbivory is sufficiently large and (2) that increased seed herbivory pressure can result in an increase in the optimal number of nonreproductive years between masting years. These results support the conjecture that masting can be a response to seed herbivory.