Premium
THERE IS MORE TO POLLINATOR‐MEDIATED SELECTION THAN POLLEN LIMITATION
Author(s) -
Sletvold Nina,
Ågren Jon
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.12405
Subject(s) - biology , variation (astronomy) , pollinator , trait , selection (genetic algorithm) , pollination , pollen , ecology , stabilizing selection , genetic variation , evolutionary biology , physics , artificial intelligence , astrophysics , computer science , gene , programming language , biochemistry
Spatial variation in pollinator‐mediated selection (Δ β poll ) is a major driver of floral diversification, but we lack a quantitative understanding of its link to pollen limitation (PL) and net selection on floral traits. For 2–5 years, we quantified Δ β poll on floral traits in two populations each of two orchid species differing in PL. In both species, spatiotemporal variation in Δ β poll explained much of the variation in net selection. Selection was consistently stronger and the proportion that was pollinator‐mediated was higher in the severely pollen‐limited deceptive species than in the rewarding species. Within species, variation in PL could not explain variation in Δ β poll for any trait, indicating that factors influencing the functional relationship between trait variation and pollination success govern a major part of the observed variation in Δ β poll . Separating the effects of variation in mean interaction intensity and in the functional significance of traits will be necessary to understand spatiotemporal variation in selection exerted by the biotic environment.