The fitness benefits of germinating later than neighbors.

Premise Of The Study: Phenology, the seasonal timing of development, can alter biotic interactions. Emergence from dormant or quiescent stages often occurs earlier when neighbors are present, which may reduce the neighbors' competitive effects. Delayed emergence in response to neighbors also has been observed, but the potential benefits of such delays are unclear.

Germination phenology determines the propensity for facilitation and competition.

A single plant can interact both positively and negatively with its neighbors through the processes of facilitation and competition, respectively. Much of the variation in the balance of facilitation and competition that individuals experience can be explained by the degree of physical stress and the sizes or ages of plants during the interaction. Germination phenology partly controls both of these factors, but its role in defining the facilitation-competition balance has not been explicitly considered.

Adjusting phenotypes via within- and across-generational plasticity.

Contents 343 I. 343 II. 343 III.

Contrasting germination responses to vegetative canopies experienced in pre- vs. post-dispersal environments.

Background: Seeds adjust their germination based on conditions experienced before and after dispersal. Post-dispersal cues are expected to be more accurate predictors of offspring environments, and thus offspring success, than pre-dispersal cues. Therefore, germination responses to conditions experienced during seed maturation may be expected to be superseded by responses to conditions experienced during seed imbibition.