On the function of flower number: disentangling fertility from pollinator-mediated selection.

ABSTRACT: In animal-pollinated angiosperms, the 'male-function' hypothesis claims that male reproductive success (RS) should benefit from large floral displays, through pollinator attraction, while female RS is expected to be mainly limited by resource availability. As appealing as this theory might be, studies comparing selection strength on flower number in both sexes rarely document the expected asymmetry. This discrepancy could arise because flower number impacts both pollinator attraction and overall gamete number. In this study, we artificially manipulate floral displays to disentangle the fertility versus pollinator attraction components of selection, both in terms of mating and RS. In females, flower number was under strong fertility selection, as predicted in the absence of pollen limitatio

SUBMITTER: Barbot E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9709571 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature