Plant size influences abundance of floral visitors and biomass allocation for the cushion plant Thylacospermum caespitosum under an extreme alpine environment.

ABSTRACT: Variation in size may influence the abundance of visitors and reproductive allocation for cushion plants in the extreme alpine environments. To assess effects of plant size on the abundance of main visitors and reproductive allocation in Thylacospermum caespitosum populations at two altitudes, the abundance of the visitors, visiting frequency, total number of flowers, number of fruits, number of unseeded flowers, and reproductive allocation were investigated during the period of reproductive growth. Concurrently, the effects of plant size on the visitors' contributions to fruit setting rate were assessed by a bagging experiment. Our results showed that flies (Musca domestica and Dasyphora asiatica) were the main pollinating insects of T. caespitosum, and they co

SUBMITTER: Zhao R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6509400 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature