COMPUTER-SIMULATIONS OF FLOWERING RHYTHMS IN PERENNIALS - IS THERE A NEW AREA TO EXPLORE IN THE QUEST FOR CHAOS

Computer simulations have been produced with difference equations which assume that the resource level of a plant ramet is a function of the exponential (or alternatively logistic) growth minus a linearly resource-dependent reproductive investment above a resource threshold. Chaotic fluctuations in resource level are found for some biologically relevant parameter combinations. Irregular flowering patterns within ramets of some studied perennial herbs may be partly explained by chaos. While chaos may be disfavoured by natural selection in population dynamics, it is probably often a neutral trait in reproductive dynamics. © 1990 Academic Press Limited.