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116 results for “floral traits”

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dryad36/100

Data from: Flowering overlap and floral trait similarity help explain the structure of pollination network

Co-flowering communities are usually characterized by high plant generalization but knowledge of the underlying factors leading to high levels of generalization and pollinator sharing, and how these may contribute to network structure is still limited. Flowering phenology and floral trait similarity are considered among the most important factors determining plant generalization and pollinator sharing. However, these have been evaluated independently even though they can act in concert with each other. Moreover, the importance of flowering phenology and floral similarity, via their effects on plant generalization, in the structure of plant–pollinator networks have been scarcely studied. Here, we aim to evaluate the effect of flowering phenology and floral similarity in mediating the degree of pollinator sharing and plant generalization in two coastal communities and uncover their importance as drivers of plant–pollinator network structure. We recorded flower production per species, as well as the identity and frequency of floral visitors along the entire flowering season. We estimated the degree of flowering overlap, the degree of floral similarity (using floral traits associated with size and color), and the degree of pollinator sharing among plant species within both communities. Structural equation models (SEM) showed a positive effect of flowering overlap on pollinator sharing and plant generalization. Pollinator sharing and plant generalization positively affected network nestedness. Furthermore, SEM showed a direct positive effect of flowering overlap on network modularity. The SEM analyses also revealed a significant interaction effect of floral similarity and flowering overlap on pollinator sharing, with consequences for network nestedness in one community. Our results highlight the importance of integrating multiple axes of differentiation such as flowering phenology and floral similarity into our understanding of the drivers of plant–pollinator network structure.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Behavioural and morphological traits influence sex-specific floral resource use by hummingbirds

Research on resource partitioning in plant-pollinator mutualistic systems is mainly concentrated at the levels of species and communities, whereas differences between males and females are typically ignored. Nevertheless, pollinators often show large sexual differences in behaviour and morphology, which may lead to sex-specific patterns of resource use with the potential to differentially affect plant reproduction and diversification. We investigated variation in behavioural and morphological traits between sexes of hummingbird species as potential mechanisms underlying sex-specific flower resource use in ecological communities. To do so, we compiled a dataset of plant-hummingbird interactions based on pollen loads for 31 hummingbird species from 13 localities across the Americas, complemented by data on territorial behaviour (territorial or nonterritorial) and morphological traits (bill length, bill curvature, wing length and body mass). We assessed the extent of intersexual differences in niche breadth and niche overlap in floral resource use across hummingbird species. Then, we tested whether floral niche breadth and overlap between sexes are associated with sexual dimorphism in behavioural or morphological traits of hummingbird species, while accounting for evolutionary relatedness among the species. We found striking differences in patterns of floral resource use between sex. Females had a broader floral niche breadth and were more dissimilar in the plant species visited with respect to males of the same species, resulting in a high level of resource partitioning between sexes. We found that both territoriality and morphological traits were related to sex-specific resource use by hummingbird species. Notably, niche overlap between sexes was greater for territorial than nonterritorial species, and moreover, niche overlap was negatively associated with sexual dimorphism in bill curvature across hummingbird species. These results reveal the importance of behavioural and morphological traits of hummingbird species in sex-specific resource use and that resource partitioning by sex is likely to be an important mechanism to reduce intersexual competition in hummingbirds. These findings highlight the need for better understanding the putative role of intersexual variation in shaping patterns of interactions and plant reproduction in ecological communities.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Complex floral traits shape pollinator attraction to ornamental plants

Background and Aims Ornamental flowering plant species are often used in managed greenspaces to attract and support pollinator populations. In natural systems, selection by pollinators is hypothesized to result in convergent multimodal floral phenotypes that are more attractive to specific pollinator taxa. In contrast, ornamental cultivars are bred via artificial selection by humans, and exhibit diverse and distinct phenotypes. Despite their prevalence in managed habitats, the influence of cultivar phenotypic variation on plant attractiveness to pollinator taxa is not well resolved. Methods We used a combination of field and behavioural assays to evaluate how variation in floral visual, chemical and nutritional traits impacted overall attractiveness and visitation by pollinator taxonomic groups and bee species to 25 cultivars of five herbaceous perennial ornamental plant genera. Key results Despite significant phenotypic variation, cultivars tended to attract a broad range of pollinator species. Nonetheless, at the level of insect order (bee, fly, butterfly, beetle), attraction was generally modulated by traits consistent with the pollination syndrome hypothesis. At the level of bee species, the relative influence of traits on visitation varied across plant genera, with some floral phenotypes leading to a broadening of the visitor community, and others leading to exclusion of visitation by certain bee species. Conclusions Our results demonstrate how pollinator choice is mediated by complex multimodal floral signals. Importantly, the traits that had the greatest and most consistent effect on regulating pollinator attraction were those that are commonly selected for in cultivar development. Though variation among cultivars in floral traits may limit the pollinator community by excluding certain species, it may also encourage interactions with generalist taxa to support pollinator diversity in managed landscapes.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Floral traits mediate pollinator disease transmission

Plants modulate multitrophic ecological interactions, and variation in plant traits can affect these interactions. Pollinators are exposed to pathogens at flowers and acquire or transmit pathogens at different rates on different plant species, but the traits mediating those interactions are almost entirely unknown. We experimentally manipulated five plant traits that span scales including flower, inflorescence, and plant, to determine their effects on pathogen transmission between foraging bees. Specifically, we manipulated two morphological traits (corolla lip length and flower orientation within an inflorescence) and three resource distribution traits (inflorescence nectar, plant patch nectar and plant aggregation) in tents to test how plant traits affect bee pathogen transmission. We also quantified foraging behavior and fecal deposition patterns as potential mechanisms driving differences in transmission, and assessed trait manipulation consequences for bee reproduction. We found that pathogen transmission was reduced when we trimmed the corolla lip, evenly dispersed nectar distribution within an inflorescence, or aggregated plants in space. Some traits also affected bee reproduction; tents with trimmed corollas had more larval production than control tents, and tents with evenly distributed nectar across plant patches had more larval production than tents with clumped resources. Thus, some trait manipulations both reduced transmission and increased bee microcolony reproduction, although our design does not allow us to discern whether these are related or separate effects. Taken together, our results demonstrate causal effects of several floral traits on pathogen transmission and pollinator reproduction, indicating the importance of intraspecific plant trait variation for pollinator health and population dynamics.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Mycorrhizae influence plant vegetative and floral traits and intraspecific trait variation

Premise. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can strongly influence host plant vegetative growth, but less is known about AMF effects on other plant traits, the relative impacts of AMF on vegetative growth versus floral traits, or AMF-induced intraspecific variation in traits. Key results. AMF species varied in their effects on host plants, from negative to positive effects. AMF often had inconsistent effects on vegetative biomass versus floral traits, and therefore quantifying one or the other may provide a misleading representation of potential AMF effects. AMF treatments generated key variation in plant traits, especially floral traits, with potential consequences for plant-pollinator interactions. Given increased intraspecific trait variation in Linum lewisii plants across AMF species compared to uninoculated individuals or single AMF treatments, local AMF diversity and their host plant associations may scale up to influence community-wide patterns of trait variation and species interactions. Conclusions. These results have implications for predicting how aboveground communities are affected by belowground communities. Including AMF effects on not just host plant biomass but also functional traits and trait variation will deepen our understanding of community structure and function, including pollination.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Quantitative trait locus mapping reveals an independent genetic basis for joint divergence in leaf function, life-history, and floral traits between scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) populations

PREMISE Across taxa, vegetative and floral traits that vary along a fast-slow life-history axis are often correlated with leaf functional traits arrayed along the leaf economics spectrum, suggesting a constrained set of adaptive trait combinations. Such broad-scale convergence may arise from genetic constraints imposed by pleiotropy (or tight linkage) within species, or from natural selection alone. Understanding the genetic basis of trait syndromes and their components is key to distinguishing these alternatives and predicting evolution in novel environments. METHODS We used a line-cross approach and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to characterize the genetic basis of twenty leaf functional/physiological, life history, and floral traits in hybrids between annualized and perennial populations of scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis). RESULTS We mapped both single and multi-trait QTLs for life history, leaf function and reproductive traits, but found no evidence of genetic co-ordination across categories. A major QTL for three leaf functional traits (thickness, photosynthetic rate, and stomatal resistance) suggests that a simple shift in leaf anatomy may be key to adaptation to seasonally dry habitats. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the co-ordination of resource-acquisitive leaf physiological traits with a fast life history and more selfing mating system results from environmental selection rather than functional or genetic constraint. Independent assortment of distinct trait modules, as well as a simple genetic basis to leaf physiological traits associated with drought escape, may facilitate adaptation to changing climates.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

zenodo36/100

Data from: Spatiotemporal variation in the role of floral traits in shaping tropical plant-pollinator interactions

Supplementary datasets for Klomberg et al. 2021 Spatiotemporal variation in the role of floral traits in shaping tropical plant-pollinator interactions. Ecology Letters. All related information can be found in the cited paper. When using the dataset for anything, cite the Klomberg et al. paper. For additional information, refer to the paper or write to robert.tropek@gmail.com

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2021View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Quantitative genetic analysis of floral traits shows current limits but potential evolution in the wild

The vast variation in floral traits across angiosperms is often interpreted as the result of adaptation to pollinators. However, studies in wild populations often find no evidence of pollinator-mediated selection on flowers. Evolutionary theory predicts this could be the outcome of periods of stasis under stable conditions, followed by shorter periods of pollinator change that provide selection for innovative phenotypes. We asked if periods of stasis are caused by stabilizing selection, absence of other forms of selection, or by low trait ability to respond even if selection is present. We studied a plant predominantly pollinated by one bee species across its range. We measured heritability and evolvability of traits, using genome-wide relatedness in a large wild population, and combined this with estimates of selection on the same individuals. We found evidence for both stabilizing selection and low trait heritability as potential explanations for stasis in flowers. The area of the standard petal is under stabilizing selection, but the variability is not heritable. A separate trait, floral weight, presents high heritability, but is not currently under selection. We show how a simple pollination environment coincides with the absence of current prerequisites for adaptive evolutionary change, while heritable variation remains to respond to future selection pressures.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Sexually concordant selection on floral traits despite greater opportunity for selection through male fitness

Pollinators are important drivers of floral trait evolution, yet plant populations are not always perfectly adapted to their pollinators. Such apparent maladaptation may result from conflicting selection through male and female sexual functions in hermaphrodites. We studied sex-specific mating patterns and phenotypic selection on floral traits in Aconitum gymnandrum. After genotyping 1786 offspring, we partitioned individual fitness into sex-specific selfed and outcrossed components and estimated phenotypic selection acting through each. Relative fitness increased with increasing mate number, and more so for male function. This led to greater opportunity for selection through outcrossed male fitness, though patterns of phenotypic selection on floral traits tended to be similar, and with better support for selection through female rather than male fitness components. We detected directional selection through one or more fitness components for larger flower number, larger flowers, and more negative nectar gradients within inflorescences. Our results are consistent with Bateman's principles for sex-specific mating patterns and illustrate that, despite the expected difference in opportunity for selection, patterns of variation in selection across traits can be rather similar for the male and female sexual functions. These results shed new light on the effect of sexual selection on the evolution of floral traits.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

dryad36/100