Erin E. South and Andrew M. Jarosz. Michigan State University
Arisaema triphyllum is a sequentially hermaphroditic
perennial herb that is common to woodlands in Michigan.
Most populations contain plants infected by the systemic rust pathogen, Uromyces ari-triphylli. The average
disease incidence for populations in Michigan
is 28%. Infected plants have increased rates of mortality and adult plant
dormancy, and reduced rates of growth. Lefkovitch matrices were utilized to
characterize population dynamics of A. triphyllum at six sites in Michigan.
We also modeled hypothetical populations that were disease-free and completely
diseased. Disease-free populations were projected to have a population growth
rate (λ) of 0.97, while λ for a completely diseased population was
projected to be equal to 0.65. Projected
stage structure for the diseased population was skewed towards plants of
intermediate size relative to that of the disease-free population. Observed
population dynamics were intermediate to that of the disease-free and diseased
populations with an average observed λ = 0.91. Infected plants were more
likely to flower than healthy plants, and were more likely to flower as
females. However, infected female plants
only rarely set seed. Since A. triphyllum is found largely in small
isolated woodlots, U. ari-triphylli
epidemics alter plant population dynamics in a manner that may increase the
likelihood of local extinction of the plant. Infected plants may be flowering
in a maladaptive manner, since flowering as a male across a broader size range
would maximize reproductive effort once a plant is diseased.