WHITE, JAMES W.*, PATRICIA A. PERONI, DAVID E. MCCAULEY, AND CHRISTOPHER M. RICHARDS. Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28036-1719; Department of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235. - Effects of inbreeding and light treatments on the germination responses of Silene latifolia seeds.
Colonizing populations often experience inbreeding. This inbreeding
may influence the ability of these populations to establish
successfully if the mass or germination behavior of inbred seeds
differs from that of outbred seeds. As part of a larger investigation
into the effects of seed banks on colonization in a Silene
latifolia meta population located in southwestern Virginia, we
created outbred and F1 and F2 inbred lines of seeds. Mean seed mass
varied significantly among maternal families within breeding
treatments, but did not differ significantly among the three breeding
treatments. To determine if germination cues or rates differed among
the three treatments, we conducted germination trials at 22 C in two
light (14 hr photoperiod) and two dark growth chambers. The effects
of breeding and light treatments on percent germination and
germination rates will be discussed
Key words: germination, inbreeding, light treatment, seeds, Silene latifolia