The efficient conversion of tissues into reproductive success is a crucial aspect affecting the evolution of life histories. Masting, the interannually variable and synchronous seed production in perennial plants, is a strategy that can enhance reproductive efficiency by mitigating seed predation and pollen limitation. However, evaluating benefits is insufficient to establish whether efficiency has improved, as such assessments neglect the associated costs of masting, particularly during the critical seed‐to‐seedling stage. We conducted a parentage analysis of seedlings and adults in a population of 209 Sorbus aucuparia trees, monitored over 23 years, providing pioneering documentation of the effects of masting on the fitness of individual trees beyond the seed stage. Our results show high costs of interannual variation that can be mitigated by high synchrony and reveal the existence of phenotypes that appear to reap the benefits of masting while avoiding its costs through regular reproduction.

中文翻译：

---

幼苗的肥大和高效生产：通过同步结果来平衡变异成本


组织有效转化为生殖成功是影响生命史进化的关键方面。肥大是多年生植物中年际变化且同步的种子生产，是一种可以通过减轻种子捕食和花粉限制来提高繁殖效率的策略。然而，评估效益不足以确定效率是否有所提高，因为此类评估忽略了肥肥的相关成本，特别是在关键的种子到幼苗阶段。我们对 209 棵 Sorbus aucuparia 树的幼苗和成虫进行了亲子关系分析，并进行了超过 23 年的监测，提供了关于在种子阶段之后，肥大对单棵树的适应性影响的开创性记录。我们的结果表明，年际变异的高成本可以通过高度同步性来减轻，并揭示了表型的存在，这些表型似乎获得了肥大的好处，同时通过定期繁殖避免了其成本。