Chemically mediated interactions among juvenile mosses as possible determinants of their community structure.

A field study of the distribution patterns of six closely related species of mosses along a complex altitudinal gradient found evidence suggesting differential aggressiveness among juveniles rather than evidence of differential competitive abilities among adults of the species. Work by Bopp (1963, 1968) on the moss phytohormone, factor H, suggests a means by which such interactions might be mediated. An experimental system is proposed through which the effect of patterns of early moss development upon the determination of moss community structure may be assessed.