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Published on: October 1, 2013
Sexual conflict over floral receptivity
Asa Lankinen1, Barbara Hellriegel, Giorgina Bernasconi
1Department of Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Lund, Sweden. asa.lankinen@ekol.lu.se
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|February 1, 2007
Summary
Pollen may evolve to induce wilting in receptive plant structures, securing paternity. Plants may coevolve defenses, but highly toxic pollen can prevent counter-adaptation, influencing paternity strategies.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Reproduction
- Game Theory
Background:
- Flowering plant receptivity varies, with some species exhibiting postpollination wilting.
- This wilting phenomenon suggests a potential mechanism for pollen donors to secure paternity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that pollen-induced wilting secures paternity at the expense of female fitness.
- To model the evolution of pollen-borne wilting substances and plant defense strategies.
Main Methods:
- Game-theoretical modeling was employed to analyze the evolution of wilting substances and plant defenses.
- The model explored the coevolution of wilting substances with stigma receptivity timing.
Main Results:
- A model without plant defense predicted an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) for wilting substance production.
- ESS for wilting substance is highest with intermediate pollinator rates and low pollen competition.
- Coevolution models predicted a joint ESS but no female counter-adaptation when wilting substance is highly toxic.
Conclusions:
- Male manipulative traits, like pollen-borne wilting substances, can evolve even in non-sequentially mating species.
- Pollen toxicity influences the long-term evolutionary stability of male manipulative adaptations.
- This study highlights parallels with animal mating systems and the role of harm in manipulative adaptations.
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