Night life on the beach: selfing to avoid pollinator competition between two sympatric Silene species.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Evolution of autonomous selfing may be advantageous because it allows for reproductive assurance. In co-flowering plants competing for pollinators, the least common and/or attractive could suffer pollen limitations. Silene niceensis and S. ramosissima are taxonomically related species sharing the same habitat, although S. ramosissima is less abundant and has a more restricted distribution. They also have the same a priori nocturnal pollinator syndrome, and show an overlapping flowering phenology. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a selfing strategy in S. ramosissima allows it to avoid pollinator competition and/or interspecific pollen transfer with S. niceensis, which would thus enable both species to reach high levels of fruit and seed set.

Me

SUBMITTER: Buide ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4512190 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature