This dataset contains data from a common garden experiment described in the paper: “Mráz P, Mrázová V. 2021. Greater reproductive assurance of asexual plant compared to sexual relative in a low density sympatric population – experimental evidence for pollen limitation. Journal of Evolutionary Ecology ”. 

We compared the level and stability of reproductive assurance between sexual self-incompatible and asexual autonomously apomictic plants of Hieracium alpinum (Asteraceae) cultivated in a sympatric low-density population with two levels of spatial clumping of sexual plants. Overall, we found that the realized seed set (i.e. proportion of well developed seeds per capitulum) of asexuals was ca. 3-times greater than that of sexuals (83% versus 27%), while the variance of this trait expressed as coefficient of variation was ca. 4-times smaller in asexuals compared to sexuals (19% versus 83%). Solitary sexual plants had more than 2-times lower realized seed set when compared to clumps composed of two spatially close (20-30 cm) sexual plants (13% versus 34%). Our study provides experimental evidence for benefit of uniparental reproduction of asexuals in a sympatric situation when the availability of mates is limited. This, together with unpredictability of pollinator environment could provide autonomous apomicts with an ultimate demographic superiority during colonization reflected in geographical parthenogenesis observed in this species.

The dataset was collected during a common garden experimet in two private gardens in Mnichovice, Czech Republic and has been analysed by a series of linear models and linear mixed effect models. For the details see the paper published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

The csv file contains a readme file with explanations of each of the variables in the dataset and two metadata files with measurements and data with geographical positions of the clumps of plants. Information on how the measurements were done can be found in the associated manuscript referenced above.