Ecological implications of a flower size/number trade-off in tropical forest trees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In angiosperms, flower size commonly scales negatively with number. The ecological consequences of this trade-off for tropical trees remain poorly resolved, despite their potential importance for tropical forest conservation. We investigated the flower size number trade-off and its implications for fecundity in a sample of tree species from the Dipterocarpaceae on Borneo.

Methodology/principal findings

We combined experimental exclusion of pollinators in 11 species, with direct and indirect estimates of contemporary pollen dispersal in two study species and published estimates of pollen dispersal in a further three species to explore the relationship between flower size, pollinator size and mean pollen dispersal distance. Maximum flower production was two orders o

SUBMITTER: Kettle CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3052255 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature