Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)

Floral scent is vital for pollinator attraction and varies among and within plant species. However, little is known about how inter-individual variation in floral scent affects the abundance and composition of floral visitor assemblages within populations. Moreover, for deceptive plants it is predic...

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Main Authors: Eva Gfrerer, Danae Laina, Marc Gibernau, Hans Peter Comes, Anja C. Hörger, Stefan Dötterl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1046532/full
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author Eva Gfrerer
Danae Laina
Marc Gibernau
Hans Peter Comes
Anja C. Hörger
Stefan Dötterl
author_facet Eva Gfrerer
Danae Laina
Marc Gibernau
Hans Peter Comes
Anja C. Hörger
Stefan Dötterl
author_sort Eva Gfrerer
collection DOAJ
description Floral scent is vital for pollinator attraction and varies among and within plant species. However, little is known about how inter-individual variation in floral scent affects the abundance and composition of floral visitor assemblages within populations. Moreover, for deceptive plants it is predicted that intra-population variation in scent can be maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection, but empirical evidence is still lacking. To investigate the ecological and evolutionary relations between inter-individual scent variation (i.e., total emission and composition) and floral visitors in deceptive plants, we studied floral scent, visitor assemblages, and fruit set in two populations of fly-pollinated (Psychodidae, Sphaeroceridae; Diptera) and deceptive Arum maculatum from Austria (JOS) and northern Italy (DAO). By correlating individual data on floral scent and visitor assemblages, we show that inter-individual variation in floral scent partly explains variation in visitor assemblages. The quantity of floral scent emitted per individual correlated positively with visitor abundance in both populations but explained visitor composition only in DAO, where strongly scented inflorescences attracted more sphaerocerid flies. However, in each population, the composition of floral scent did not correlate with the composition of floral visitors. There was also no evidence of negative frequency-dependent selection on floral scent. Instead, in JOS, more frequent scent phenotypes attracted more pollinators and were more likely to set an infructescence than rarer ones. Our results show that floral scent, despite being key in pollinator attraction in A. maculatum, only partly explains variation in pollinator abundance and composition. Overall, this study is the first to shed light on the importance of inter-individual variation in floral scent in explaining floral visitor assemblages at the population level in a deceptive plant species.
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spelling doaj.art-8a5639c0b36145c19f4bdd7443022af02023-01-10T15:17:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2023-01-011310.3389/fpls.2022.10465321046532Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)Eva Gfrerer0Danae Laina1Marc Gibernau2Hans Peter Comes3Anja C. Hörger4Stefan Dötterl5Department of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaLaboratory of Sciences for the Environment, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – University of Corsica, Ajaccio, FranceDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaFloral scent is vital for pollinator attraction and varies among and within plant species. However, little is known about how inter-individual variation in floral scent affects the abundance and composition of floral visitor assemblages within populations. Moreover, for deceptive plants it is predicted that intra-population variation in scent can be maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection, but empirical evidence is still lacking. To investigate the ecological and evolutionary relations between inter-individual scent variation (i.e., total emission and composition) and floral visitors in deceptive plants, we studied floral scent, visitor assemblages, and fruit set in two populations of fly-pollinated (Psychodidae, Sphaeroceridae; Diptera) and deceptive Arum maculatum from Austria (JOS) and northern Italy (DAO). By correlating individual data on floral scent and visitor assemblages, we show that inter-individual variation in floral scent partly explains variation in visitor assemblages. The quantity of floral scent emitted per individual correlated positively with visitor abundance in both populations but explained visitor composition only in DAO, where strongly scented inflorescences attracted more sphaerocerid flies. However, in each population, the composition of floral scent did not correlate with the composition of floral visitors. There was also no evidence of negative frequency-dependent selection on floral scent. Instead, in JOS, more frequent scent phenotypes attracted more pollinators and were more likely to set an infructescence than rarer ones. Our results show that floral scent, despite being key in pollinator attraction in A. maculatum, only partly explains variation in pollinator abundance and composition. Overall, this study is the first to shed light on the importance of inter-individual variation in floral scent in explaining floral visitor assemblages at the population level in a deceptive plant species.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1046532/fullArum maculatumPsychodidaeSphaeroceridaefloral scent phenotypeintrapopulation variation in floral scent and pollinatorsnegative frequency-dependent selection
spellingShingle Eva Gfrerer
Danae Laina
Marc Gibernau
Hans Peter Comes
Anja C. Hörger
Stefan Dötterl
Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
Frontiers in Plant Science
Arum maculatum
Psychodidae
Sphaeroceridae
floral scent phenotype
intrapopulation variation in floral scent and pollinators
negative frequency-dependent selection
title Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
title_full Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
title_fullStr Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
title_full_unstemmed Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
title_short Variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)
title_sort variation in scent amount but not in composition correlates with pollinator visits within populations of deceptive arum maculatum l araceae
topic Arum maculatum
Psychodidae
Sphaeroceridae
floral scent phenotype
intrapopulation variation in floral scent and pollinators
negative frequency-dependent selection
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1046532/full
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