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Trait selection in flowering plants: how does sexual selection contribute?
Lynda F Delph1, Tia-Lynn Ashman
1Department of Biology 1001 East Third Street, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 USA.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|June 16, 2011
Summary
Sexual selection in plants occurs via pollination dynamics, influencing mate acquisition. Traits enhancing pollen export and receipt often evolve together, driven by pollinator activity.
Area of Science:
- Plant evolutionary biology
- Reproductive strategies
- Sexual selection
Background:
- Sexual selection frameworks by Arnold (1994) and Murphy (1998) are merged.
- Sexual selection in plants is explored, focusing on indirect interactions via pollination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss how sexual selection operates in plants without direct individual interactions.
- To review traits influencing pollen export and receipt in hermaphroditic and gynodioecious plants.
- To clarify the role of sexual selection in trait evolution for hermaphrodite plants.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing studies on plant reproductive traits.
- Analysis of pollination dynamics and their influence on mate acquisition.
- Examination of traits affecting pollen export and pollen receipt.
Main Results:
- Phenotypes enhancing pollen export often align with those enhancing pollen receipt.
- Pollinator visitation rates frequently limit both male and female reproductive functions.
- Opposing selection on traits was less common but often linked to specific sex functions.
Conclusions:
- Sexual selection is a significant component of trait evolution in hermaphrodite plants.
- Pollination dynamics provide a mechanism for sexual selection in plants.
- Understanding trait evolution requires considering indirect sexual selection pressures.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
01:20Mate Choice
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
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01:46Types of Selection
Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
02:40Pollination and Flower Structure
Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.
02:38Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction allows plants to reproduce without growing flowers, attracting pollinators, or dispersing seeds. Offspring are genetically identical to the parent and produced without the fusion of male and female gametes.