Drought drives selection for earlier flowering, while pollinators drive selection for larger flowers in annual <i>Brassica rapa</i>.

ABSTRACT: Drought-induced changes in floral traits can disrupt plant-pollinator interactions, influencing pollination and reproductive success. These phenotypic changes likely also affect natural selection on floral traits, yet phenotypic selection studies manipulating drought remain rare. We studied how drought impacts selection to understand the potential evolutionary consequences of drought on floral traits. We used a factorial experiment with potted plants to manipulate both water availability (well-watered and drought) and pollination (open and supplemented). We examined the treatment effects on traits of Brassica rapa and estimated phenotypic selection and whether it was pollinator-mediated in these two abiotic conditions. Drought affected plant phenotypes, leading to plants with fewer

SUBMITTER: Rathnayake K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11758195 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature