1
|
Valverde J, Perfectti F, Gómez JM. Pollination effectiveness in a generalist plant: adding the genetic component. New Phytol 2019; 223:354-365. [PMID: 30761538 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The pollination effectiveness of a flower visitor has traditionally been measured as the product of a quantity component that depends on the frequency of interaction and a quality component that measures the per-visit effects on plant reproduction. We propose that this could be complemented with a genetic component informing about each pollinator's contribution to the genetic diversity and composition of the plant progeny. We measured the quantity and quality components of effectiveness of most pollinator functional groups of the generalist herb Erysimum mediohispanicum. We used 10 microsatellite markers to calculate the genetic component as the diversity of sires among siblings and included it into the calculation of the pollination effectiveness. Functional groups varied in the quantity and quality components, which were shown to be decoupled. Functional groups also differed in the genetic component. This component changed the estimates of pollination effectiveness, increasing the differences between some functional groups and modifying the pollination effectiveness landscape. We demonstrate that including the genetic component in the calculation of the pollination effectiveness may allow a more complete quantification of the contribution of each pollinator to the reproductive success of a plant, providing information on its mating patterns and long-term fitness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Valverde
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, ES-18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco Perfectti
- Departamento de Genética and Unidad de Excelencia 'Modeling Nature', Universidad de Granada, ES-18071, Granada, Spain
| | - José María Gómez
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), ES-04120, Almería, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
Self-fertilization has recurrently evolved in plants, involving different strategies and traits and often loss of attractive functions, collectively known as the selfing syndrome. However, few traits that actively promote self-fertilization have been described. Here we describe a novel mechanism promoting self-fertilization in the Brassicaceae species Erysimum incanum. This mechanism, which we called "anther rubbing," consists of autonomous, repeated, and coordinated movements of the stamens over the stigma during flower opening. We have documented anther rubbing by time-lapse videos and experimentally show that it causes self-pollen deposition on stigmas and is sufficient to achieve maximal reproductive output in E. incanum. We predict that these movements should occur in species with limited inbreeding depression, and indeed we find that inbreeding depression in seed production is negligible in this species. While many studies have documented complex floral traits that promote outcrossing, the occurrence of anther rubbing demonstrates that plants can evolve elaborate and underappreciated adaptations to promote self-fertilization.
Collapse
|
3
|
Melen MK, Herman JA, Lucas J, O'Malley RE, Parker IM, Thom AM, Whittall JB. Reproductive success through high pollinator visitation rates despite self incompatibility in an endangered wallflower. Am J Bot 2016; 103:1979-1989. [PMID: 27864264 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1600193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Self incompatibility (SI) in rare plants presents a unique challenge-SI protects plants from inbreeding depression, but requires a sufficient number of mates and xenogamous pollination. Does SI persist in an endangered polyploid? Is pollinator visitation sufficient to ensure reproductive success? Is there evidence of inbreeding/outbreeding depression? We characterized the mating system, primary pollinators, pollen limitation, and inbreeding/outbreeding depression in Erysimum teretifolium to guide conservation efforts. METHODS We compared seed production following self pollination and within- and between-population crosses. Pollen tubes were visualized after self pollinations and between-population pollinations. Pollen limitation was tested in the field. Pollinator observations were quantified using digital video. Inbreeding/outbreeding depression was assessed in progeny from self and outcross pollinations at early and later developmental stages. KEY RESULTS Self-pollination reduced seed set by 6.5× and quadrupled reproductive failure compared with outcross pollination. Pollen tubes of some self pollinations were arrested at the stigmatic surface. Seed-set data indicated strong SI, and fruit-set data suggested partial SI. Pollinator diversity and visitation rates were high, and there was no evidence of pollen limitation. Inbreeding depression (δ) was weak for early developmental stages and strong for later developmental stages, with no evidence of outbreeding depression. CONCLUSIONS The rare hexaploid E. teretifolium is largely self incompatible and suffers from late-acting inbreeding depression. Reproductive success in natural populations was accomplished through high pollinator visitation rates consistent with a lack of pollen limitation. Future reproductive health for this species will require large population sizes with sufficient mates and a robust pollinator community.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miranda K Melen
- Department of Environmental Studies, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, California 95192 USA
| | - Julie A Herman
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053 USA
| | - Jessica Lucas
- Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, Illinois 62902 USA
| | - Rachel E O'Malley
- Department of Environmental Studies, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, California 95192 USA
| | - Ingrid M Parker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064 USA
| | - Aaron M Thom
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053 USA
| | - Justen B Whittall
- Department of Biology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053 USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gómez JM, Perfectti F, Abdelaziz M, Lorite J, Muñoz-Pajares AJ, Valverde J. Evolution of pollination niches in a generalist plant clade. New Phytol 2015; 205:440-53. [PMID: 25252267 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/29/2014] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
It is widely assumed that floral diversification occurs by adaptive shifts between pollination niches. In contrast to specialized flowers, identifying pollination niches of generalist flowers is a challenge. Consequently, how generalist pollination niches evolve is largely unknown. We apply tools from network theory and comparative methods to investigate the evolution of pollination niches among generalist species belonging to the genus Erysimum. These species have similar flowers. We found that the studied species may be grouped in several multidimensional niches separated not by a shift of pollinators, but instead by quantitative variation in the relative abundance of pollinator functional groups. These pollination niches did not vary in generalization degree; we did not find any evolutionary trend toward specialization within the studied clade. Furthermore, the evolution of pollination niche fitted to a Brownian motion model without phylogenetic signal, and was characterized by frequent events of niche convergences and divergences. We presume that the evolution of Erysimum pollination niches has occurred mostly by recurrent shifts between slightly different generalized pollinator assemblages varying spatially as a mosaic and without any change in specialization degree. Most changes in pollination niches do not prompt floral divergence, a reason why adaptation to pollinators is uncommon in generalist plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José María Gómez
- Dpto de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Aridas (EEZA-CSIC), E-04120, Almería, Spain; Dpto de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, E-18071, Granada, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Munkert J, Ernst M, Müller-Uri F, Kreis W. Identification and stress-induced expression of three 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases from Erysimum crepidifolium Rchb. and their putative role in cardenolide biosynthesis. Phytochemistry 2014; 100:26-33. [PMID: 24512841 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2013] [Revised: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3βHSD) are supposed to be involved in cardenolide biosynthesis in plants. Erysimum crepidifolium Rchb., a member of the Brassicaceae accumulating cardenolides, is a close relative to Arabidopsis thaliana. Full length cDNAs encoding for three individual 3βHSDs (EcHSD1, EcHSD2, EcHSD3) were isolated from E. crepidifolium leaves. EcHSD1 and EcHSD2 encode proteins assembled from 257 amino acids whereas EcHSD3 encodes a protein assembled from 260 amino acids. All three proteins qualify as members of the short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases family of proteins (SDRs). EcHSD1 and EcHSD2 shared a high amino acid sequence identity of about 86% and 91% with putative 3βHSDs of A. thaliana (AT2G47140 and AT2G47130). EcHSD3 showed high homology to the A. thaliana SDRs AT2G47150 (74%) and AT2G47120 (81%). All three EcHSD genes were expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant enzymes were characterized biochemically. All three recombinant EcHSDs catalyzed the dehydrogenation of pregnenolone and the 3-reduction of 5α/β-pregnane-3,20-dione when NAD and NADH were used as cosubstrates, respectively. After exposure to different stress conditions, no increased transcription was seen for EcHSD1 whereas EcHSD2 was expressed four times higher under osmotic stress than under control conditions. EcHSD3 expression was 10 times and 6 times higher after osmotic stress and MeJA treatment, respectively, than in controls.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Munkert
- Pharmaceutical Biology, Department Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Mona Ernst
- Pharmaceutical Biology, Department Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Frieder Müller-Uri
- Pharmaceutical Biology, Department Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kreis
- Pharmaceutical Biology, Department Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; ECROPS Erlangen Center of Plant Science, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gómez JM, Muñoz-Pajares AJ, Abdelaziz M, Lorite J, Perfectti F. Evolution of pollination niches and floral divergence in the generalist plant Erysimum mediohispanicum. Ann Bot 2014; 113:237-49. [PMID: 23965614 PMCID: PMC3890381 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mct186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2013] [Accepted: 06/21/2013] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS How generalist plants diverge in response to pollinator selection without becoming specialized is still unknown. This study explores this question, focusing on the evolution of the pollination system in the pollination generalist Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae). METHODS Pollinator assemblages were surveyed from 2001 to 2010 in 48 geo-referenced populations covering the entire geographic distribution of E. mediohispanicum. Bipartite modularity, a complex network tool, was used to find the pollination niche of each population. Evolution of the pollination niches and the correlated evolution of floral traits and pollination niches were explored using within-species comparative analyses. KEY RESULTS Despite being generalists, the E. mediohispanicum populations studied can be classified into five pollination niches. The boundaries between niches were not sharp, the niches differing among them in the relative frequencies of the floral visitor functional groups. The absence of spatial autocorrelation and phylogenetic signal indicates that the niches were distributed in a phylogeographic mosaic. The ancestral E. mediohispanicum populations presumably belonged to the niche defined by a high number of beetle and ant visits. A correlated evolution was found between pollination niches and some floral traits, suggesting the existence of generalist pollination ecotypes. CONCLUSIONS It is conjectured that the geographic variation in pollination niches has contributed to the observed floral divergence in E. mediohispanicum. The process mediating this floral divergence presumably has been adaptive wandering, but the adaptation to the local pollinator faunas has been not universal. The outcome is a landscape where a few populations locally adapted to their pollination environment (generalist pollination ecotypes) coexist with many populations where this local adaptation has failed and where the plant phenotype is not primarily shaped by pollinators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - J. Lorite
- Departamento de Botánica, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Lay CR, Linhart YB, Diggle PK. The good, the bad and the flexible: plant interactions with pollinators and herbivores over space and time are moderated by plant compensatory responses. Ann Bot 2011; 108:749-63. [PMID: 21724655 PMCID: PMC3170155 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcr152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 05/10/2011] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants are sessile organisms that face selection by both herbivores and pollinators. Herbivores and pollinators may select on the same traits and/or mediate each others' effects. Erysimum capitatum (Brassicaceae) is a widespread and variable plant species with generalized pollination that is attacked by a number of herbivores. The following questions were addressed. (a) Are pollinators and herbivores attracted by similar plant traits? (b) Does herbivory affect pollinator preferences? (c) Do pollinators and/or herbivores affect fitness and select on plant traits? (d) Do plant compensatory responses affect the outcome of interactions among plants, pollinators and herbivores? (e) Do interactions among E. capitatum and its pollinators and herbivores differ among sites and years? METHODS In 2005 and 2006, observational and experimental studies were combined in four populations at different elevations to examine selection by pollinators and herbivores on floral traits of E. capitatum. KEY RESULTS Pollinator and herbivore assemblages varied spatially and temporally, as did their effects on plant fitness and selection. Both pollinators and herbivores preferred plants with more flowers, and herbivory sometimes reduced pollinator visitation. Pollinators did not select on plant traits in any year or population and E. capitatum was not pollen limited; however, supplemental pollen resulted in altered plant resource allocation. Herbivores reduced fitness and selected for plant traits in some populations, and these effects were mediated by plant compensatory responses. CONCLUSIONS Individuals of Erysimum capitatum are visited by diverse groups of pollinators and herbivores that shift in abundance and importance in time and space. Compensatory reproductive mechanisms mediate interactions with both pollinators and herbivores and may allow E. capitatum to succeed in this complex selective environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C. R. Lay
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Gómez JM, Bosch J, Perfectti F, Fernández JD, Abdelaziz M, Camacho JPM. Spatial variation in selection on corolla shape in a generalist plant is promoted by the preference patterns of its local pollinators. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 275:2241-9. [PMID: 18544510 PMCID: PMC2603243 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2007] [Revised: 05/13/2008] [Accepted: 05/20/2008] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An adaptive role of corolla shape has been often asserted without an empirical demonstration of how natural selection acts on this trait. In generalist plants, in which flowers are visited by diverse pollinator fauna that commonly vary spatially, detecting pollinator-mediated selection on corolla shape is even more difficult. In this study, we explore the mechanisms promoting selection on corolla shape in the generalist crucifer Erysimum mediohispanicum Polatschek (Brassicaceae). We found that the main pollinators of E. mediohispanicum (large bees, small bees and bee flies) discriminate between different corolla shapes when offered artificial flowers without reward. Importantly, different pollinators prefer different shapes: bees prefer flowers with narrow petals, whereas bee flies prefer flowers with rounded overlapping petals. We also found that flowers with narrow petals (those preferred by bees) produce both more pollen and nectar than those with rounded petals. Finally, different plant populations were visited by different faunas. As a result, we found spatial variation in the selection acting on corolla shape. Selection favoured flowers with narrow petals in the populations where large or small bees are the most abundant pollinator groups. Our study suggests that pollinators, by preferring flowers with high reward, exert strong selection on the E. mediohispanicum corolla shape. The geographical variation in the pollinator-mediated selection on E. mediohispanicum corolla shape suggests that phenotypic evolution and diversification can occur in this complex floral trait even without specialization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José M Gómez
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, C.P. 18071, France.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gómez JM, Bosch J, Perfectti F, Fernández JD, Abdelaziz M, Camacho JPM. Association between floral traits and rewards in Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae). Ann Bot 2008; 101:1413-20. [PMID: 18424472 PMCID: PMC2710261 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcn053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Floral rewards may be associated with certain morphological floral traits and thus act as underlying factors promoting selection on these traits. This study investigates whether some traits that are under pollinator-mediated selection (flower number, stalk height, corolla diameter, corolla tube length and corolla tube width) in the Mediterranean herb E. mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae) are associated with rewards (pollen and nectar). METHODS During 2005 the phenotypic traits and the visitation rate of the main pollinator functional groups were quantified in 720 plants belonging to eight populations in south-east Spain, and during 2006 the same phenotypic traits and the reward production were quantified in 400 additional plants from the same populations. KEY RESULTS A significant correlation was found between nectar production rate and corolla tube length, and between pollen production and corolla diameter. Visitation rates of large bees and butterflies were significantly higher in plants exhibiting larger flowers with longer corolla tubes. CONCLUSIONS The association between reward production and floral traits may be a factor underlying the pattern of visitation rate displayed by some pollinators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José M Gómez
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Granada 18071, Spain.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Gómez JM, Bosch J, Perfectti F, Fernández J, Abdelaziz M. Pollinator diversity affects plant reproduction and recruitment: the tradeoffs of generalization. Oecologia 2007; 153:597-605. [PMID: 17576602 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0758-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2007] [Accepted: 04/23/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
One outstanding and unsolved challenge in ecology and conservation biology is to understand how pollinator diversity affects plant performance. Here, we provide evidence of the functional role of pollination diversity in a plant species, Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae). Pollinator abundance, richness and diversity as well as plant reproduction and recruitment were determined in eight plant populations. We found that E. mediohispanicum was generalized both at the regional and local (population) scale, since its flowers were visited by more than 100 species of insects with very different morphology, size and behaviour. However, populations differed in the degree of generalization. Generalization correlated with pollinator abundance and plant population size, but not with habitat, ungulate damage intensity, altitude or spatial location. More importantly, the degree of generalization had significant consequences for plant reproduction and recruitment. Plants from populations with intermediate generalization produced more seeds than plants from populations with low or high degrees of generalization. These differences were not the result of differences in number of flowers produced per plant. In addition, seedling emergence in a common garden was highest in plants from populations with intermediate degree of generalization. This outcome suggests the existence of an optimal level of generalizations even for generalized plant species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José M Gómez
- Departmento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Gómez JM. Non-additive effects of herbivores and pollinators on Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) fitness. Oecologia 2005; 143:412-8. [PMID: 15678331 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-004-1809-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2004] [Accepted: 12/08/2004] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In this study, the non-additivity of effects of herbivores and pollinator on fitness of the plant Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) has been experimentally tested. The abundance and diversity of the pollinator assemblage of plants excluded from and exposed to mammalian herbivores, and the combined effect of pollinators and herbivores on plant reproduction were determined over a period of 2 years. Pollinator abundance was higher and diversity was lower on plants excluded from herbivores. Furthermore, the experimental exclusions demonstrated that both pollinators and herbivores affected plant fitness, but their effects were not independent. Herbivores only had a detrimental effect on plant fitness when pollinators were present. Similarly, pollinators enhanced fitness only when herbivores were excluded. This outcome demonstrates that the importance of pollinators for plant fitness depends on the occurrence of herbivores, and suggests that herbivores may hamper pollinator-mediated adaptation in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José M Gómez
- Dpto Biología Animal y Ecología, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Gómez JM. Herbivory reduces the strength of pollinator-mediated selection in the Mediterranean herb Erysimum mediohispanicum: consequences for plant specialization. Am Nat 2003; 162:242-56. [PMID: 12858267 DOI: 10.1086/376574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2002] [Accepted: 02/18/2003] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In this study, I tested whether selection occurring on several morphological and floral traits in Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) is modified by the effects of herbivores. Six plots were established in 1997 in the Sierra Nevada, Spain; three were fenced to exclude native ungulates, and the remaining were open to ungulates. I determined pollinator and ungulate preferences for plant traits and their effect on plant fecundity. Then I compared the selection regimes between plants excluded from herbivores and plants open to them. When ungulates were absent, I found significant selection on flower number, reproductive stalk height, basal diameter of the stalks, petal length, and inner diameter of the flowers. When ungulates were present, selection on floral traits completely disappeared, and selection strength on flower number and morphological traits decreased. This effect was due to the ungulate preference for larger plants and the phenotypic correlations between plant size and floral traits. Results suggest that pollinator-mediated selection can be disrupted by conflicting effects of plant enemies acting during or subsequent to pollination. An accurate picture of the pollinator role as selective pressure requires the consideration of the entire life cycle of the plant as well as the ecological scenario in which the interactions occur.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jose M Gómez
- Departamento de Biología Animal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071, Granada, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|