Jonathan Silvertown
Research publications
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Papers by topic:
Community ecology (also see Phylogeny & ecology)
Tofts, R. & Silvertown, J. (2002) Community assembly from the local species pool: an experimental study using congeneric species pairs. Journal of Ecology, 90, 385-393. 
Tofts, R. & Silvertown, J. (2000) Niche differences and their relation to species' traits in Cirsium vulgare and Cirsium eriophorum. Folia Geobotanica, 35, 231-240. 
Silvertown, J. & Wilson, J.B. (2000). Spatial interactions among grassland plant populations. In The geometry of ecological interactions (eds. U. Dieckman, R. Law & H. Metz), pp. 28-47. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Silvertown, J., Dodd, M.E., Gowing, D., & Mountford, O. (1999) Hydrologically-defined niches reveal a basis for species-richness in plant communities. Nature, 400, 61-63. 
Wilson, J.B., Lines, C.E.M., & Silvertown, J. (1996) Grassland community structure under different grazing regimes, with a method for examining species associations when local richness is constrained. Folia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica, 31, 197-206.
Wilson, J.B., Wells, T.C.E., Trueman, I.C., Jones, G., Atkinson, M.D., Crawley, M.J., Dodd, M.E., & Silvertown, J. (1996) Are there assembly rules for plant species abundance? An investigation in relation to soil resources and successional trends. Journal of Ecology, 84, 527-538. 
Silvertown, J., Lines, C.E.M., & Dale, M.P. (1994) Spatial competition between grasses - rates of mutual invasion between 4 species and the interaction with grazing. Journal of Ecology, 82, 31-38. 
Silvertown, J. & Wilson, J.B. (1994) Community structure in a desert perennial community. Ecology, 75, 409-417. 
Silvertown, J., Holtier, S., Johnson, J., & Dale, P. (1992) Cellular automaton models of interspecific competition for space - the effect of pattern on process. Journal of Ecology, 80, 527-534. 
Silvertown, J. & Dale, P. (1991) Competitive hierarchies and the structure of herbaceous plant communities. Oikos, 61, 441-444.
Silvertown, J. & Law, R. (1987) Do plants need niches? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2, 24-26. 
Silvertown, J. (1985) Fertile arguments in the desert. Nature, 316, 298.
Silvertown, J. (1983) The distribution of plants in limestone pavement: tests of species interaction and niche separation against null hypotheses. Journal of Ecology, 71, 819-828. 
Harvey, P.H., Colwell, R., Silvertown, J., & May, R.M. (1983) Null models in ecology. Annual Review of Ecology & Systematics, 14, 189-211. 
Silvertown, J. (1979) The maintenance of species diversity in grassland, with particular reference to chalk grassland. D.Phil., University of Sussex.
Comparative demography
Franco, M. & Silvertown, J. (2004) Comparative demography of plants based upon elasticities of vital rates. Ecology, 85, 531-538. 
Silvertown, J., Franco, M., & Menges, E. (1996) Interpretation of elasticity matrices as an aid to the management of plant populations for conservation. Conservation Biology, 10, 591-597. 
Franco, M. & Silvertown, J. (1996) Life history variation in plants: An exploration of the fast-slow continuum hypothesis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B - Biological Sciences, 351, 1341-1348. 
Enright, N.J., Franco, M., & Silvertown, J. (1995) Comparing plant life histories using elasticity analysis: The importance of lifespan and the number of life cycle stages. Oecologia, 104, 79-84. 
Franco, M. & Silvertown, J. (1994) On trade-offs, elasticities and the comparative method: a reply to Shea, Rees & Wood. Journal of Ecology, 82, 958. 
Silvertown, J. & Franco, M. (1993) Plant demography and habitat: a comparative approach. Plant Species Biology, 8, 67-73. 
Silvertown, J., Franco, M., Pisanty, I., & Mendoza, A. (1993) Comparative plant demography - relative importance of Life-Cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. Journal of Ecology, 81, 465-476. 
Silvertown, J., Franco, M., & Mcconway, K. (1993) The eternal triangle - an attempt at reconciliation. Functional Ecology, 7, 380-381.
Franco, M. & Silvertown, J. (1990) Plant demography: What do we know? Evol.Trends Plants, 4, 74-76. 
Silvertown, J., Franco, M., & McConway, K. (1992) A demographic interpretation of Grime's triangle. Functional Ecology, 6, 130-136. 
Silvertown, J. & Tremlett, M. (1989) Interactive effects of disturbance and shade upon colonization of grassland: an experiment with Anthriscus sylvestris, Conium maculatum , Daucus carota and Heracleum sphodylium. Functional Ecology, 3, 229-235. 
Evolutionary ecology of plants:
General, Herbs, Seeds, Trees, Plant behaviour
General
Silvertown, J. (2008) The evolutionary maintenance of sex: evidence from the ecological distribution of asexual reproduction in clonal plants. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 169, 157-168. 
Silvertown, J., Franco, M., & Perez-Ishiwara, R. (2001) Evolution of senescence in iteroparous perennial plants. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 3, 1-20. 
Silvertown, J. (2001). Plants stand still, but their genes don't: non-trivial consequences of the obvious. In Integrating ecology and evolution in a spatial context (eds J. Silvertown & J. Antonovics), pp. 3-20. Blackwell, Oxford.
Silvertown, J. (1991) Dorothy's dilemma and the unification of plant population biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 6, 346-348. 
Silvertown, J. (1989) A binary classification of plant life histories and some possibilities for its evolutionary application. Evolutionary Trends in Plants, 3, 87-90. 
Silvertown, J. (1987) The evolution of hermaphroditism. An experimental test of the resource model. Oecologia, 72, 157-159. 
Herbs
Silvertown, J. (1986) "Biennials": reply to Kelly. American Naturalist, 127, 721-724. 
Silvertown, J. (1984) Death of the elusive biennial. Nature, 310, 271.
Silvertown, J. (1983) Why are biennials sometimes not so few? American Naturalist, 121, 448-453. 
Seeds
Silvertown, J. & Bullock, J.M. (2003) Do seedlings in gaps interact? A field test of assumptions in ESS seed size models. Oikos, 101, 499-504. 
Silvertown, J. (1992) An experimental test of Frequency-Dependent fitness in mixtures of the 2 seed morphs of Spergula arvensis. Acta Oecologica, 13, 627-634. 
Silvertown, J. (1992). Seeds in natural populations and their significance for plant conservation. In Conservation Biology. A Training Manual for Biological Diversity and genetic resources (eds P. Kapoor-Vijay & J. White), pp. 133-145. Commonwealth Science Council, London.
Silvertown, J. & Smith, B. (1988) Gaps in the canopy: the missing dimension in vegetation dynamics. Vegetatio, 77, 56-60. 
Silvertown, J. (1988) The demographic and evolutionary consequences of seed dormancy. In Plant population ecology (eds A.J. Davy, M.J.Hutchings & A.R.Watkinson), pp. 205-219. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Silvertown, J. (1985). When plants play the field. In Evolution: essays in honour of John Maynard Smith (eds P. Greenwood, P.H. Harvey & M. Slatkin), pp. 143-153. Cambridge University Press,, Cambridge.
Silvertown, J. (1984) Phenotypic variety in seed germination behaviour: the ontogeny and evolution of somatic polymorphism in seeds. American Naturalist, 124, 1-16. 
Silvertown, J. (1981) Seed Size, Life-Span, and Germination Date as Co-Adapted Features of Plant Life-History. American Naturalist, 118, 860-864. 
Silvertown, J. (1980) Leaf-canopy induced seed dormancy in a grassland flora. New Phytologist, 85, 109-118. 
Trees
Dodd, M.E. & Silvertown, J. (2000) Size-specific fecundity and the influence of lifetime size variation upon effective population size in Abies balsamea. Heredity, 85, 604-609. 
Silvertown, J. & Dodd, M.E. (1999) Evolution of life history in balsam fir (Abies balsamea) in sub-alpine forests. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 266, 729-733. 
Silvertown, J. & Dodd, M.E. (1999) The demographic cost of reproduction and its consequences in balsam fir (Abies balsamea). American Naturalist, 154, 321-332. 
Silvertown, J. (1996) Are sub-alpine firs evolving towards semelparity? Evolutionary Ecology, 10, 77-80. 
Silvertown, J. (1980) The evolutionary ecology of mast seeding in trees. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 14, 235-250. 
Plant behaviour
Silvertown, J. (1998) Plant phenotypic plasticity and non-cognitive behaviour. Trends In Ecology & Evolution, 13, 255-256. 
Silvertown, J. & Gordon, D. (1989) A framework for plant behaviour. Annual Review of Ecology & Systematics, 20, 349-366. 
Silvertown, J. & Rabinowitz, D. (1985) Reproductive decisions in the botanical world. New Scientist, 32-34.
Historical ecology
Silvertown, J. (1985) History of a latitudinal diversity gradient: woody plants in Europe 13,000 -- 1000 years B.P. Journal of Biogeography, 12, 519-525. 
Silvertown, J. (1978) The history of woodlands in Hornsey. London Naturalist, 57, 11-25.
Park Grass experiment
Silvertown, J., Biss, P.M., Freeland, J. (2008) Community genetics: resource addition has opposing effects on genetic and species diversity in a 150-year experiment. Ecology Letters 12, 165-170. 
Freville, H., McConway, K., Dodd, M. & Silvertown, J. (2007) Prediction of extinction in plants: Interaction of extrinsic threats and life history traits. Ecology, 88, 2662-2672.
Silvertown, J., Poulton, P., Johnston, A.E., Edwards, G., Heard, M., & Biss, P.M. (2006) The Park Grass Experiment 1856 - 2006: Its Contribution to Ecology. Journal of Ecology, 94, 801-814. 
Silvertown, J., Servaes, C., Biss, P., & Macleod, D. (2005) Reinforcement of reproductive isolation between adjacent populations in the Park Grass Experiment. Heredity, 95, 198-205. 
Freville, H. & Silvertown, J. (2005) Analysis of interspecific competition in perennial plants using life table response experiments. Plant Ecology, 176, 69-78. 
Crawley, M.J., Johnston, A.E., Silvertown, J., Dodd, M., de Mazancourt, C., Heard, M.S., Henman, D.F., & Edwards, G.R. (2005) Determinants of species richness in the park grass experiment. American Naturalist, 165, 179-192. 
Biss, P., Freeland, J., Silvertown, J., McConway, K.J., & Lutman, P. (2003) Successful amplification of rice chloroplast microsatellites from century-old grass samples from the Park Grass Experiment. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, 21, 249-257. 
Silvertown, J., McConway, K.J., Hughes, Z., Biss, P., Macnair, M., & Lutman, P. (2002) Ecological and genetic correlates of long-term population trends in the park grass experiment. American Naturalist, 160, 409-420. 
Wilson, J.B., Crawley, M.J., Dodd, M.E., & Silvertown, J. (1996) Evidence for constraint on species coexistence in vegetation of the Park Grass experiment. Vegetatio, 124, 183-190. 
Dodd, M., Silvertown, J., Mcconway, K., Potts, J., & Crawley, M. (1995) Community stability: A 60-year record of trends and outbreaks in the occurrence of species in the Park Grass Experiment. Journal of Ecology, 83, 277-285. 
Silvertown, J., Dodd, M., McConway, K., Crawley, M., & Potts, J. (1995) Species diversity and stability in grassland. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 287-288. 
Dodd, M.E., Silvertown, J., Mcconway, K., Potts, J., & Crawley, M. (1994) Application of the British National Vegetation Classification to the Communities of the Park Grass Experiment Through Time. Folia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica, 29, 321-334.
Dodd, M.E., Silvertown, J., Mcconway, K., Potts, J., & Crawley, M. (1994) Stability in the plant communities of the Park Grass Experiment: The relationships between species richness, soil pH and biomass variability. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B - Biological Sciences, 346, 185-193. 
Silvertown, J., Dodd, M.E., Mcconway, K., Potts, J., & Crawley, M. (1994) Rainfall, biomass variation, and community composition in the Park Grass Experiment. Ecology, 75, 2430-2437. 
Tilman, D., Dodd, M.E., Silvertown, J., Poulton, P.R., Johnston, A.E., & Crawley, M.J. (1994). The Park Grass Experiment: Insights from the Most Long-Term Ecological Study. In Long - Term Experiments in Agricultural and Ecological Sciences (eds R.A. Leigh & A.E. Johnston), pp. 287-303. C a B International, Wallingford, United Kingdom 0X10 8DE.
Silvertown, J. (1987) Ecological stability: a test case. American Naturalist, 130, 807-810. 
Silvertown, J.W. (1980) The dynamics of a grassland ecosystem: botanical equilibrium in the Park Grass Experiment. Journal of Applied Ecology, 17, 491-504. 
Phylogeny and ecology
Silvertown, J., Dodd, M., Gowing, D., Lawson, C. & McConway, K. (2006) Phylogeny and the hierarchical organization of plant diversity. Ecology, 87, S39-S49. 
Silvertown, J., McConway, K.J., Gowing, D.J., Dodd, M.E., Fay, M.F., Joseph, J.A., & Dolphin, K. (2006) Absence of phylogenetic signal in the niche structure of meadow plant communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.,273, 39-44. 
Silvertown, J., Francisco-Ortega, J., & Carine, M. (2005) The monophyly of island radiations: an evaluation of niche pre-emption and some alternative explanations. Journal of Ecology, 93, 653-657. 
Silvertown, J. (2004) The ghost of competition past in the phylogeny of island endemic plants. Journal of Ecology, 92, 168-173. 
Silvertown, J., Dodd, M., & Gowing, D. (2001) Phylogeny and the niche structure of meadow plant communities. Journal of Ecology, 89, 428-435. 
Tofts, R. & Silvertown, J. (2000) A phylogenetic approach to community assembly from a local species pool. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 267, 363-370. 
Silvertown, J. & Dodd, M. (1997). Comparing plants and connecting traits. In Plant life histories: Ecology, phylogeny and evolution (eds J. Silvertown, M. Franco & J.L. Harper), pp. 3-16. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 
Population dynamics (mostly grassland plants)
Bullock, J.M., Franklin, J., Stevenson, M.J., Silvertown, J., Coulson, S.J., Gregory, S.J., & Tofts, R. (2001) A plant trait analysis of responses to grazing in a long-term experiment. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38, 253-267. 
Clear Hill, B.H. & Silvertown, J. (1997) Higher-order interaction between molluscs and sheep affecting seedling numbers in grassland. Acta Oecologica, 18, 587-596. 
Gillman, M.P. & Silvertown, J. (1997). Population extinction and IUCN categories: the uncertainty of ecological measurement. In The role of genetics in conserving small populations (eds T.E. Tew, T.J. Crawford, J.W. Spencer, D.P. Stevens, M.B. Usher & J. Warren), pp. 155-162. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough.
Bullock, J.M., Silvertown, J., & Clear Hill, B. (1996) Plant demographic responses to environmental variation: Distinguishing between effects on age structure and effects on age-specific vital rates. Journal of Ecology, 84, 733-743. 
Bullock, J.M., Clear Hill, B., Silvertown, J., & Sutton, M. (1995) Gap Colonization as a Source of Grassland Community Change - Effects of Gap Size and Grazing on the Rate and Mode of Colonization by Different Species. Oikos, 72, 273-282. 
Bullock, J.M., Clear Hill, B., & Silvertown, J. (1994) Demography of Cirsium vulgare in a grazing experiment. Journal of Ecology, 82, 101-111. 
Bullock, J.M., Clear Hill, B., & Silvertown, J. (1994) Tiller dynamics of two grasses - Responses to grazing, density and weather. Journal of Ecology, 82, 331-340. 
Bullock, J.M., Clear Hill, B., Dale, M.P., & Silvertown, J. (1994) An Experimental Study of the Effects of Sheep Grazing on Vegetation Change in a Species-Poor Grassland and the Role of Seedlings Recruitment into Gaps. Journal of Applied Ecology, 31, 493-507. 
Silvertown, J., Wells, D.A., Gillman, M., Dodd, M.E., Robertson, H., & Lakhani, K.H. (1994) Short-Term Effects and Long-Term After-Effects of Fertilizer Application on the Flowering Population of Green-Winged Orchid Orchis morio. Biological Conservation, 69, 191-197. 
Briske, D.D. & Silvertown, J. (1993) Plant demography and grassland community balance: the contribution of population regulation mechanisms. In XVII International Grassland Congress, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Gillman, M., Bullock, J.M., Silvertown, J., & Clear Hill, B. (1993) A Density-Dependent model of Cirsium vulgare population dynamics using Field-Estimated parameter values. Oecologia, 96, 282-289. 
Silvertown, J., Watt, T.A., Smith, B., & Treweek, J.R. (1992) Complex effects of grazing treatment on the establishment, growth, survival & reproduction of an annual in a species-poor grassland community. Journal of Vegetation Science, 3, 35-40. 
Silvertown, J. (1991) Modularity, reproductive thresholds and plant population dynamics. Functional Ecology, 5, 577-582. 
Silvertown, J. & Smith, B. (1989) Germination and population structure of spear thistle Cirsium vulgare in relation to sheep grazing management of pasture. Oecologia, 81, 369-373. 
Symonides, E., Silvertown, J., & Andreasen, V. (1986) Population cycles caused by overcompensating density-dependence in an annual plant. Oecologia, 71, 156-158. 
Silvertown, J. (1985) Survival, fecundity and growth of wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata. Journal of Ecology, 73, 841-849. 
Tremlett, M., Silvertown, J.W., & Tucker, C. (1984) An analysis of spatial and temporal variation in seedling survival of a monocarpic perennial, Conium maculatum. Oikos, 43, 41-45. 
Silvertown, J.W. & Dickie, J.B. (1980) Seedling survivorship in natural populations of nine perennial chalk grassland plants. New Phytologist, 88, 555-558. 
Primula vulgaris and heterostyly
Valverde, T. & Silvertown, J. (1998) Variation in the demography of a woodland understorey herb (Primula vulgaris) along the forest regeneration cycle: projection matrix analysis. Journal Of Ecology, 86, 545-562. 
Valverde, T. & Silvertown, J. (1997) A metapopulation model for Primula vulgaris, a temperate forest understorey herb. Journal Of Ecology, 85, 193-210. 
Valverde, T. & Silvertown, J. (1997) An integrated model of demography, patch dynamics and seed dispersal in a woodland herb, Primula vulgaris. Oikos, 80, 67-77. 
Valverde, T. & Silvertown, J. (1997) Canopy closure rate and forest structure. Ecology, 78, 1555-1562. 
Valverde, T. & Silvertown, J. (1995) Spatial variation in the seed ecology of a woodland herb (Primula vulgaris) in relation to light environment. Functional Ecology, 9, 942-950. 
Boyd, M., Silvertown, J., & Tucker, C. (1990) Population ecology of heterostyle and homostyle Primula vulgaris: Growth, survival and reproduction in field populations. Journal of Ecology, 78, 799-813. 
Seed ecology
Silvertown, J. (2004) Sustainability in a nutshell. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19, 276-278. 
Silvertown, J. (1989) The paradox of seed size and adaptation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 4, 24-26. 
Silvertown, J. & Smith, B. (1989) Mapping the microenvironment for seed germination in the field. Annals of Botany, 63, 163-167.
Silvertown, J., Smith, B., & Prince, S.D. (1988) A field instrument for mapping the microenvironment within grass canopies. Functional Ecology, 2, 263-268. 
Silvertown, J. (1987) Possible sexual dimorphism in the double coconut: a reinterpretation of the data of Savidge and Ashton. Biotropica, 19, 282-283. 
Silvertown, J. & Wilkin, F.R. (1983) An experimental test of the role of micro-spatial heterogeneity in the co-existence of congeneric plants. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 19, 1-8.
Silvertown, J. (1981) Micro-spatial heterogeneity and seedling demography in species rich grassland. New Phytologist, 88, 117-125. 
Silvertown, J. (1980) Leaf-canopy induced seed dormancy in a grassland flora. New Phytologist, 85, 109-118. 
Everything else
Silvertown, J. & McConway, K.J. (1997) Does ''publication bias''' lead to biased science? Oikos, 79, 167-168.
Silvertown, J. (1989) China's Silent Spring. New Scientist, 123, 55-58.
Silvertown, J. (1989) Plant competition. Nature, 337, 122-123.
Silvertown, J. (1989) Reply from J.Silvertown. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 4, 145-146.
