Abstract: To reveal trade-offs in resource allocation of plant seeds and their variation with elevation, we collected Cardiocrinum giganteum seeds along an elevational gradient and measured seed number, width of seed wings, 100-seed weight, and contents of fat and polyphenol. We analyzed the differences of seed traits among different elevations with ANOVA and multiple comparison, and assessed strategic divergence ofC. giganteum populations with principal component analysis. The results showed that seeds at low elevation had wider wings (P<0.001), higher polyphenol content (P<0.001), but lower fat content (P<0.001) compared with seeds at high elevation. PC1 and PC2, which together explained 79.61% variation of seed traits, displayed that seeds at different elevations belonged to different groups. Our results indicated that there were tradeoffs in resource allocation to dispersal, colonization and defense of seeds. Seeds at low elevation allocated more resources into diffused and defensive structures, but those at high elevation saved more energy to enhance the colonization ability of seedlings.

Key words: resource allocation, dispersal, colonization, defense.