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Updated: Jul 2, 2025

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Published on: November 6, 2016
Seed masting as a mechanism for escape from pathogens
T Jonathan Davies1, Ailene MacPherson2
1Departments of Botany and Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg South Africa.
Seed masting, a reproductive strategy, may be explained by pathogen escape, an additional economies of scale (EOS) mechanism. This theory complements existing explanations like predator satiation for understanding masting in plants.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Seed masting, characterized by variable and synchronous annual reproduction, requires ecological or evolutionary explanations due to its reproductive costs.
- Current explanations for seed masting include resource availability and economies of scale (EOS), with predator satiation and pollination efficiency being prominent EOS hypotheses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and explore pathogen escape as an additional economies of scale (EOS) mechanism driving seed masting.
- To compare pathogen escape with existing theories, particularly predator satiation, within the framework of disease ecology.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing principles from disease ecology to develop and describe models of pathogen-mediated masting.
- Comparing and contrasting the ecological dynamics of pathogen escape with predator satiation models.
Main Results:
- Pathogen escape and predator satiation may favor masting through similar mass-action interactions and temporal delays.
- Divergences in dynamics are possible due to host epidemiological structure and spatial scales of interaction.
Conclusions:
- Pathogen escape presents a novel, viable mechanism contributing to the evolution of seed masting.
- This hypothesis should be integrated into broader explanations for diverse masting observations across plant taxa and geographic distributions.
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