A test of the Grant-Stebbins pollinator-shift model of floral evolution.

ABSTRACT: Pollinators are thought to play a key role in driving incipient speciation within the angiosperms. However, the mechanisms underlying floral divergence in plants with generalist pollination systems, remains understudied. Brunsvigia gregaria displays significant geographical variation in floral traits and are visited by diverse pollinator communities. Because pollinators are often shared between populations, we investigated whether specific pollinators are responsible for driving floral divergence between them. Three distinct ecotypes were identified, each dominated by three different pollinators: bees, swallowtail butterflies, and long-proboscid flies. Across seven populations, we found a pattern of association between style length and the morphology of pollinators that visit the flowers m

SUBMITTER: Moir M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11798893 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature