Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae)
Flower traits, such as flower size or color changes, can act as honest signals indicating greater rewards such as nectar; however, nothing is known about shelter-rewarding systems. Large flowers of Royal irises offer overnight shelter as a reward to <i>Eucera</i> bees. A black patch migh...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/16/2978 |
| _version_ | 1827728837000036352 |
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| author | Sissi Lozada-Gobilard Nadine Nielsen Yuval Sapir |
| author_facet | Sissi Lozada-Gobilard Nadine Nielsen Yuval Sapir |
| author_sort | Sissi Lozada-Gobilard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flower traits, such as flower size or color changes, can act as honest signals indicating greater rewards such as nectar; however, nothing is known about shelter-rewarding systems. Large flowers of Royal irises offer overnight shelter as a reward to <i>Eucera</i> bees. A black patch might signal the entrance to the tunnel (shelter) and, together with the flower size, these might act as honest signals. We hypothesize that larger flowers and black patches indicate larger tunnels, and larger tunnels will increase pollinator visits, enhancing the plants’ reproductive success. We measured seven species in a controlled environment and two species from three natural populations varying in flower size. Fruit and seed sets were assessed in these natural populations. We found a positive correlation between the flower, patch size, and tunnel volume, suggesting that the flowers and patch size act as honest signals, both under controlled conditions and in the wild. However, in natural populations, this positive relationship and its effect on fitness was population-specific. Flower size increased the fitness in YER <i>I. petrana</i>, and interactions between flower/patch size and tunnel size increased the fitness in YER and <i>I. atropurpurea</i> NET populations. This suggests that the honesty of the signal is positively selected in these two populations. This study supports the hypothesis that pollinator-mediated selection leads to the honest signaling of flower advertisement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:38:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57797f6c2bf6441b92e8006d50a0e73c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:38:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-57797f6c2bf6441b92e8006d50a0e73c2023-11-19T02:41:51ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-08-011216297810.3390/plants12162978Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae)Sissi Lozada-Gobilard0Nadine Nielsen1Yuval Sapir2The Botanical Garden, School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, G.S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, IsraelThe Botanical Garden, School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, G.S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, IsraelThe Botanical Garden, School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, G.S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, IsraelFlower traits, such as flower size or color changes, can act as honest signals indicating greater rewards such as nectar; however, nothing is known about shelter-rewarding systems. Large flowers of Royal irises offer overnight shelter as a reward to <i>Eucera</i> bees. A black patch might signal the entrance to the tunnel (shelter) and, together with the flower size, these might act as honest signals. We hypothesize that larger flowers and black patches indicate larger tunnels, and larger tunnels will increase pollinator visits, enhancing the plants’ reproductive success. We measured seven species in a controlled environment and two species from three natural populations varying in flower size. Fruit and seed sets were assessed in these natural populations. We found a positive correlation between the flower, patch size, and tunnel volume, suggesting that the flowers and patch size act as honest signals, both under controlled conditions and in the wild. However, in natural populations, this positive relationship and its effect on fitness was population-specific. Flower size increased the fitness in YER <i>I. petrana</i>, and interactions between flower/patch size and tunnel size increased the fitness in YER and <i>I. atropurpurea</i> NET populations. This suggests that the honesty of the signal is positively selected in these two populations. This study supports the hypothesis that pollinator-mediated selection leads to the honest signaling of flower advertisement.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/16/2978honest signalfloral traitsflower sizecolor signalshelter rewardfitness |
| spellingShingle | Sissi Lozada-Gobilard Nadine Nielsen Yuval Sapir Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) Plants honest signal floral traits flower size color signal shelter reward fitness |
| title | Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) |
| title_full | Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) |
| title_fullStr | Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) |
| title_short | Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (<i>Iris</i> Section <i>Oncocyclus</i>, Iridaceae) |
| title_sort | flower size as an honest signal in royal irises i iris i section i oncocyclus i iridaceae |
| topic | honest signal floral traits flower size color signal shelter reward fitness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/16/2978 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sissilozadagobilard flowersizeasanhonestsignalinroyalirisesiirisisectionioncocyclusiiridaceae AT nadinenielsen flowersizeasanhonestsignalinroyalirisesiirisisectionioncocyclusiiridaceae AT yuvalsapir flowersizeasanhonestsignalinroyalirisesiirisisectionioncocyclusiiridaceae |