The measurement of fitness is critical to biological research. Although the determination of
fitness for some organisms may be relatively straightforward under controlled conditions, it is …

Coastal oceans are particularly affected by rapid and extreme environmental changes with
dramatic consequences for the entire ecosystem. Seagrasses are key ecosystem …

Biological invasions impose ecological and economic problems on a global scale, but also
provide extraordinary opportunities for studying contemporary evolution. It is critical to …

Many flowering plants exhibit dual reproductive modes, producing both sexual and asexual
offspring. The commonest form of asexual reproduction is clonal growth, in which vegetative …

Background Vegetatively propagated crops are globally significant in terms of current
agricultural production, as well as for understanding the long-term history of early agriculture …

Aquatic plant invasions are often associated with long‐distance dispersal of vegetative
propagules and prolific clonal reproduction. These reproductive features combined with …

Somatic mutations are common in plants, and they may accumulate and be passed on to
gametes. The determinants of somatic mutation accumulation include the intraorganismal …

Seed is one of the key factors of crop productivity. Therefore, a comprehension of the
mechanisms underlying seed formation in cultivated plants is crucial for the quantitative and …

Apomixis, the asexual production of seed, is a trait estimated to occur in fewer than 1% of
flowering plant species, with an uneven distribution among lineages. In the past decade …

Clonal growth of plants is attained by a number of morphologically different organs (eg
stolons, rhizomes, and roots), which are not functionally equivalent. Consequently, these …