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Floral evolution and male reproductive success: Optimal dispensing schedules for pollen dispersal by animal-pollinated plants

Publication ,  Journal Article
Harder, LD; Wilson, WG
Published in: Evolutionary Ecology
September 1, 1994

Selection favouring an outcrossing plant's ability to sire seeds generally promotes floral characters that increase (1) the frequency of pollinator visits, (2) the number of pollen grains dispersed to other plants by each pollinator and (3) the probability of a pollen grain successfully fertilizing an ovule after reaching a stigma. Flowers influence pollen dispersal and fertilization probabilities by determining the pattern of pollen removal during a series of visits (dispensing schedule). We model male reproductive success to identify optimal dispensing schedules, which characteristically involve monotonic increases in the proportion of remaining pollen removed during successive visits. These schedules balance the benefits of restricted removal, which counteracts the diminishing returns associated with animal pollination (e.g. pollinator grooming, local mate competition), with the advantages of increased removal to avoid time-dependent losses in fertilization ability (e.g. pollen precedence, declining viability). Because pollinator availability mediates this balance, the most effective dispensing schedule allows dynamic adjustment of removal to the prevailing frequency of visits experienced by individual plants. As an example of such dynamic removal we demonstrate that the dispensing mechanism of Lupinus sericeus flowers allows facultative adjustment of removal to the interval between visits. Because optimal control of pollen removal can increase a plant's mating opportunities by an order of magnitude, dispensing mechanisms should be a common component of floral design. © 1994 Chapman & Hall.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Evolutionary Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1573-8477

ISSN

0269-7653

Publication Date

September 1, 1994

Volume

8

Issue

5

Start / End Page

542 / 559

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Harder, L. D., & Wilson, W. G. (1994). Floral evolution and male reproductive success: Optimal dispensing schedules for pollen dispersal by animal-pollinated plants. Evolutionary Ecology, 8(5), 542–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01238257
Harder, L. D., and W. G. Wilson. “Floral evolution and male reproductive success: Optimal dispensing schedules for pollen dispersal by animal-pollinated plants.” Evolutionary Ecology 8, no. 5 (September 1, 1994): 542–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01238257.
Harder, L. D., and W. G. Wilson. “Floral evolution and male reproductive success: Optimal dispensing schedules for pollen dispersal by animal-pollinated plants.” Evolutionary Ecology, vol. 8, no. 5, Sept. 1994, pp. 542–59. Scopus, doi:10.1007/BF01238257.
Journal cover image

Published In

Evolutionary Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1573-8477

ISSN

0269-7653

Publication Date

September 1, 1994

Volume

8

Issue

5

Start / End Page

542 / 559

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology