Floral Symmetry and Its Influence on Variance in Flower Size

Wolfe, Lorne M.; Krstolic, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1086/303249

Cited by 43 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Several comparisons of variation in floral traits have demonstrated that bilateral flowers were less variable in size than radial flowers (Armbruster et al 1999;Wolfe & Krstolic 1999;Ushimaru et al 2007;Herrera et al 2008;van Kleunen et al 2008), supporting the PMSS hypothesis. However, it remains unclear whether variance in the flower size is associated with pollinator diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Floral symmetry: pollinator-mediated stabilizing selection on flower size in bilateral species

Gong

Huang

2009

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pollinator-mediated stabilizing selection (PMSS) has been proposed as the driver of the evolutionary shift from radial to bilateral symmetry of flowers. Studies have shown that variation in flower size is lower in bilateral than in radial species, but whether bilateral flowers experience more stabilizing selection pressures by employing fewer, more specialized pollinators than radial flowers remains unclear. To test the PMSS hypothesis, we investigate plant-pollinator interactions from a whole community in an alpine meadow in Hengduan Mountains, China, to examine: (i) variance in flower size and level of ecological generalization (pollinator diversity calculated using functional groups) in 14 bilateral and 13 radial species and (ii) the role pollinator diversity played in explaining the difference of variance in flower size between bilateral and radial species. Our data showed that bilateral species had less variance in flower size and were visited by fewer pollinator groups. Pollinator diversity accounted for up to 40 per cent of the difference in variance in flower size between bilateral and radial species. The mediator effect of pollinator diversity on the relationship between floral symmetry and variance in flower size in the community is consistent with the PMSS hypothesis.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Floral symmetry: pollinator-mediated stabilizing selection on flower size in bilateral species

Gong

Huang

2009

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A few other studies have found similar trends. Wolfe and Krstolic (1999) and Ushimaru et al (2006) found that plant species with radially symmetrical flowers (which supposedly experienced generalized pollination) were more variable in size than species with bilaterally symmetrical flowers (which supposedly experienced specialized pollination). Similarly, Armbruster et al (1999) and Meng et al (2008) found lower variation in species with specialized pollination in comparison to species with generalized pollination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Pollination Specialization and Breeding System on Floral Integration and Phenotypic Variation in Ipomoea

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The large number of factors that can affect the variability of traits may explain the varying support for Berg's hypothesis provided by empirical studies of variational and covariational patterns in vegetative and reproductive parts in flowering plants (Diggle 1992;Waitt & Levin 1993, 1998Conner & Sterling 1995Armbruster et al 1999;Wolfe & Krstolic 1999;Magwene 2001;Herrera et al 2002;Juenger et al 2005;Brock & Weinig 2007;Hansen, Pe´labon & Armbruster 2007;Perez-Barrales, Arroyo & Armbruster 2007;Chalcoff, Ezcurra & Aizen 2008;Ordano et al 2008). Indeed, while reproductive traits generally show lower phenotypic variation than vegetative traits (Fenster 1991;Cresswell 1998;Herrera 2001;Chalcoff, Ezcurra & Aizen 2008), this pattern is not restricted to species with a specialized pollinator (Armbruster et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence for the Berg hypothesis: vegetative traits are more sensitive than pollination traits to environmental variation

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary1. In plants with specialized pollination, functionally important floral traits are expected to be under strong selection for accuracy. This may, however, conflict with a general tendency for sizerelated traits to covary. Previous studies have addressed this fundamental conflict by analysing natural variation across samples of structures, but here we compare the effects of experimentally induced environmental differences on variation in serially homologous pollination and vegetative traits. 2. We examined the effects of experimental variation in nutrient availability and total daily irradiance on two pairs of serially homologous traits in two populations of Dalechampia scandens: (i) The length of the floral bract blade and the length of the leaf blade, and (ii) the length of stipules associated with bracts and leaves. The first pair contrasts a floral trait that is likely to experience canalizing selection (bract blade) with a homologous vegetative trait that does not experience canalizing selection (leaf blade). The second contrasts homologous floral and vegetative traits that are likely to experience similar selective pressures. We also examined variational properties of two blossom traits that interact directly with pollinators: the area of the resin gland and the length of the styles. 3. Variation in the bract blades was decoupled from variation in the vegetative traits and followed the variational patterns of the two blossom traits that are functional in pollination. Stipules associated with bracts and leaves were affected similarly by the experimental treatments in a pattern characteristic of vegetative traits. 4. These results are consistent with the Berg hypothesis of decoupling and canalization of specialized floral structures and support the idea that the variability can evolve in response to selection on variation.

show abstract

Floral Symmetry and Its Influence on Variance in Flower Size

Cited by 43 publications

References 23 publications

Floral symmetry: pollinator-mediated stabilizing selection on flower size in bilateral species

Floral symmetry: pollinator-mediated stabilizing selection on flower size in bilateral species

Influence of Pollination Specialization and Breeding System on Floral Integration and Phenotypic Variation in Ipomoea

Experimental evidence for the Berg hypothesis: vegetative traits are more sensitive than pollination traits to environmental variation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About