| Abstract Detail
Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions Hossack, Gavin [1], Caruso, Christina [1]. Effects of pollinator declines on selection on floral traits in a species with separate sexes. Pollinator declines, by weakening plant-pollinator interactions, are predicted to intensify natural selection on floral traits that either attract pollinators or increase the amount of pollen transferred per visit. However, the effect of pollinator declines on selection may differ between sex morphs (e.g. females and hermaphrodites in gynodioecious species) if morphs offer different rewards to pollinators. To determine whether the effect of pollinator declines on selection on floral traits differs between sex morphs, we exposed female and hermaphroditic Lobelia siphilitica plants to either ambient pollination or reduced pollination treatments. For female and hermaphroditic plants in each treatment, we estimated directional selection on four floral traits (inflorescence height, average daily floral display, flower size, and stigma exsertion) via seeds per plant. If pollinator declines weaken mutualistic interactions between plants and pollinators, then there should be stronger directional selection on floral traits of L. siphilitica when pollinator access to plants is restricted compared to ambient pollination. If female plants are less attractive than hermaphrodites because they offer nectar without a pollen reward, then restricting pollinator access should have a larger effect on selection on floral traits of female than of hermaphroditic L. siphilitica. More generally, these selection estimates can be used to predict how a gynodioecious plant could adapt to pollinator declines, and, in particular, to predict whether the evolutionary trajectory of female and hermaphroditic plants might differ as pollinators decline.
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1 - University Of Guelph, Department Of Integrative Biology, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
Keywords:
plant-pollinator interactions
Gynodioecy
Selection
floral traits
pollinator declines.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: SYMB3, Symbioses: Plant, Animal and Microbe Interactions 3
Location: /
Date: Thursday, July 22nd, 2021
Time: 3:00 PM(EDT)
Number: SYMB3001
Abstract ID:473
Candidate for Awards:None |
