Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination
Abstract Many hummingbird‐pollinated plant species evolved from bee‐pollinated ancestors independently in many different habitats in North and South America. The mechanisms leading to these transitions are not completely understood. We conducted pollination and germination experiments and analyzed a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8621 |
| _version_ | 1818113363940474880 |
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| author | Stefan Abrahamczyk Maximilian Weigend Katrin Becker Lea Sophie Dannenberg Judith Eberz Nayara Atella‐Hödtke Bastian Steudel |
| author_facet | Stefan Abrahamczyk Maximilian Weigend Katrin Becker Lea Sophie Dannenberg Judith Eberz Nayara Atella‐Hödtke Bastian Steudel |
| author_sort | Stefan Abrahamczyk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Many hummingbird‐pollinated plant species evolved from bee‐pollinated ancestors independently in many different habitats in North and South America. The mechanisms leading to these transitions are not completely understood. We conducted pollination and germination experiments and analyzed additional reproductive traits in three sister species pairs of which one species is bee‐ and the other hummingbird‐pollinated. All hummingbird‐pollinated species showed higher seed set and germination rates in cross‐pollinated than in self‐pollinated flowers. In the self‐compatible, bee‐pollinated sister species this difference did not exist. As expected, seed set and germination rate were higher after cross‐pollination in the largely self‐incompatible genus Penstemon independently of the pollination syndrome. However, the bird‐pollinated species produce only half of the amount of ovules and pollen grains per flower compared to the bee‐pollinated sister species. This indicates that hummingbird pollination is much more efficient in self‐incompatible populations because hummingbirds waste less pollen and provide higher outcrossing rates. Therefore, hummingbird pollination is less resource costly. Overall, we suggest that hummingbirds may increase the reproductive success compared to bees, influencing the evolution of hummingbird pollination in ecosystems with diverse bee assemblages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:33:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b70da2e3b6148df8a0fe16253062c83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:33:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b70da2e3b6148df8a0fe16253062c832022-12-22T01:22:19ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582022-02-01122n/an/a10.1002/ece3.8621Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollinationStefan Abrahamczyk0Maximilian Weigend1Katrin Becker2Lea Sophie Dannenberg3Judith Eberz4Nayara Atella‐Hödtke5Bastian Steudel6Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyNees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyNees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyNees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyNees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyNees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants University of Bonn Bonn GermanyHealth and Environmental Sciences Xi'an Jiaotong‐Liverpool University Suzhou ChinaAbstract Many hummingbird‐pollinated plant species evolved from bee‐pollinated ancestors independently in many different habitats in North and South America. The mechanisms leading to these transitions are not completely understood. We conducted pollination and germination experiments and analyzed additional reproductive traits in three sister species pairs of which one species is bee‐ and the other hummingbird‐pollinated. All hummingbird‐pollinated species showed higher seed set and germination rates in cross‐pollinated than in self‐pollinated flowers. In the self‐compatible, bee‐pollinated sister species this difference did not exist. As expected, seed set and germination rate were higher after cross‐pollination in the largely self‐incompatible genus Penstemon independently of the pollination syndrome. However, the bird‐pollinated species produce only half of the amount of ovules and pollen grains per flower compared to the bee‐pollinated sister species. This indicates that hummingbird pollination is much more efficient in self‐incompatible populations because hummingbirds waste less pollen and provide higher outcrossing rates. Therefore, hummingbird pollination is less resource costly. Overall, we suggest that hummingbirds may increase the reproductive success compared to bees, influencing the evolution of hummingbird pollination in ecosystems with diverse bee assemblages.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8621beegermination rateoutcrossingpollination efficiencyseed setselfing |
| spellingShingle | Stefan Abrahamczyk Maximilian Weigend Katrin Becker Lea Sophie Dannenberg Judith Eberz Nayara Atella‐Hödtke Bastian Steudel Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination Ecology and Evolution bee germination rate outcrossing pollination efficiency seed set selfing |
| title | Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| title_full | Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| title_fullStr | Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| title_short | Influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| title_sort | influence of plant reproductive systems on the evolution of hummingbird pollination |
| topic | bee germination rate outcrossing pollination efficiency seed set selfing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8621 |
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