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UNCOVERING THE CONSEQUENCES OF CO-FLOWERING AND POLLINATOR SHARING: EFFECTS OF LOCAL COMMUNITY CONTEXT ON POLLEN TRANSFER DYNAMICS, FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND FLORAL EVOLUTION IN MIMULUS GUTTATUS

Arceo Gomez, Gerardo (2014) UNCOVERING THE CONSEQUENCES OF CO-FLOWERING AND POLLINATOR SHARING: EFFECTS OF LOCAL COMMUNITY CONTEXT ON POLLEN TRANSFER DYNAMICS, FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND FLORAL EVOLUTION IN MIMULUS GUTTATUS. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

While plant-pollinator interactions commonly take place within a larger community context, studies of plants and their pollinators have typically focused on pair-wise interactions. Co-flowering species whithin multi-species communities may influence pollinator foraging decisions and hence plant reproductive success and floral evolution. For instance, plants growing in highly diverse areas may be more pollen limited than plants in species-poor areas due to the high levels of pollinator competition and interspecific pollen transfer. As a result, stronger selection pressures can also be expected in highly diverse areas in order to increase the quantity and/or quality of pollen reaching conspecific stigmas. However, how plant community composition contributes to the severity of pollen limitation, what the potential underlying mechanisms are and how selection on floral traits changes with increasing community diversity is still unclear. In this study I use Mimulus guttatus as a model system to evaluate the effect of local co-flowering community context on quantity and quality aspects of pollen limitation, pollen transfer dynamics, heterospecific pollen effects and selection processes in high and low diversity areas. I show that the relative contribution of pollen quantity and quality limitation to overall pollen limitation of reproductive success depends on the co-flowering community context in which M. guttatus exists. I further uncover heterospecific pollen receipt as a potential mechanism underlying decreased reproductive success in highly diverse areas by showing that complex interactions among multiple heterospecific pollen donors can exacerbate its effects and that heterospecific pollen receipt can have an even greater detrimental effect on self compared to outcross conspecific pollen. Finally, I show that co-flowering community context can be an important driver of selection that promotes floral trait differentiation among populations, in the case of M. guttatus in flower longevity. By combining observational, experimental, field and greenhouse approaches, this study extends our knowledge of the processes underlying insufficient pollination in natural communities, reveals new complexities in our understanding of heterospecific pollen effects and advances our understanding of the community properties shaping the evolutionary dynamics of constituent populations.


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Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Arceo Gomez, Gerardogea13@pitt.eduGEA13
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairAshman, Tia-Lynntia1@pitt.eduTIA1
Committee MemberKalisz, Susankalisz@pitt.eduKALISZ
Committee MemberStephen , Tonsortonsor@pitt.eduTONSOR
Committee MemberBrian, Trawmbtraw@pitt.eduMBTRAW
Committee MemberRandall, Mitchellrjm2@uakron.edu
Date: 26 May 2014
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 26 February 2014
Approval Date: 26 May 2014
Submission Date: 6 March 2014
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 119
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Biological Sciences
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Co-flowering, community, diversity, pollination, Mimulus, pollen limitation,
Date Deposited: 26 May 2014 23:12
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 14:17
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20659

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