Bot. Mus. Bara. Eniíliti GoeUli, sér. Boi. 18(2), 2002 
Although seed mass (Parolin 2000) and establishment strategies 
(Parolin 1 998) vai^ considerably among the chosen species, the pattems 
of germination were rather similar between them, even when 
phylogenetic relationships are considered, e.g. within the 
Caesalpiniaceae to which 5 of the 12 chosen species belong. 
Independent from phylogenetic constraints, a close relationship between 
retreating floodwater and germination has evolved which guarantees 
proper timing for efficient seedling establishment in the floodplains 
prior to rc-SLibmergence. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
This study was realized in collaboration between the Max-Planck- 
Institute for Limnology/Plbn, Gcrmany and the National Amazon 
Research institute (INPA)/ManaLis, Brazil. I wish to thank Leandro V. 
Feireira for help with the experiments and discussions, and P. J. Grubb, 
K. Thompson, H. Pritchard and M.A. Cohn for helpful comments on 
the manuscript. 
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