Abstract
1. Terrestrial plant populations located at the margins of species’
distributions often display reduced sexual reproduction and an increased
reliance on asexual reproduction. One hypothesis to explain this
phenomenon is that the decline is associated with environmental effects
on the energetic costs to produce reproductive organs. 2. In order to
clarify the changing processes of sexual reproduction along an
altitudinal gradient, we investigated the sexual reproductive
parameters, such as the number of sporophytes and gametangia, in
Racomitrium lanuginosum, a dioicous moss found on Mt. Fuji.
Matured sporophytes were present only below 3000 m, and the number of
sporophytes per shoot tended to be lower at higher altitudes. 3. The
numbers of male inflorescences per shoot and antheridia per
inflorescence and shoot significantly decreased with increasing
altitude. In contrast, the numbers of female inflorescences per shoot
and archegonia per inflorescence and shoot varied little across
altitudes. 4. Synthesis. Our results suggest that the success of sexual
reproduction in R. lanuginosum is restricted at higher altitudes
on Mt. Fuji by decreases in male gametangia and the subsequent chance of
fertilization. These differences between males and females may be caused
by differences in the cost of production and development of gametangia,
sensitivity to environmental stresses (low air temperature, shortened
growth period, and environmental conditions in winter), and phenological
patterns at higher altitudes.