Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 5, 2026
07:19
Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
Published on: November 25, 2016
12.1K
Pollinator identity and spatial isolation influence multiple paternity in an annual plant
Matthew K Rhodes1,2, Jeremie B Fant1, Krissa A Skogen1
1Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022, USA.
Molecular Ecology
|March 24, 2017
Summary
Pollinator identity significantly impacts plant mating. Hawkmoths facilitate more paternal sires than solitary bees, influencing multiple paternity in Oenothera harringtonii.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Sciences
Background:
- Multiple paternity, where a single seed has multiple fathers, is crucial for plant genetic diversity.
- Understanding the link between pollinator activity and multiple paternity is vital, especially in species with diverse floral visitors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how functionally distinct pollinators (hawkmoths and solitary bees) influence multiple paternity in Oenothera harringtonii.
- To examine the role of plant spatial isolation in mediating pollinator effects on mating dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Studied Oenothera harringtonii, a self-incompatible annual forb.
- Differentiated the impacts of hawkmoths (primary pollinators) and solitary bees (secondary pollinators) on multiple paternity.
- Assessed the relationship between multiple paternity and plant spatial isolation.
Main Results:
- Hawkmoths resulted in nearly twice as many paternal sires compared to solitary bees.
- Spatial isolation significantly reduced multiple paternity, irrespective of pollinator identity.
- Pollinator morphology and behavior, not abundance or dispersal distance, were key drivers of mating variation.
Conclusions:
- Functionally diverse pollinators exert distinct influences on plant polyandry.
- Both pollinator identity and spatial heterogeneity are critical factors shaping plant mating dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
02:40Pollination and Flower Structure
78.9K
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.
78.9K
02:16Genetics of Speciation
22.7K
Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.
22.7K
01:31Formation of Species
46.2K
Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.
46.2K
01:17What is a Species?
51.4K
Overview
51.4K
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
24.4K
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.
24.4K
01:49Law of Segregation
79.0K
When crossing pea plants, Mendel noticed that one of the parental traits would sometimes disappear in the first generation of offspring, called the F1 generation, and could reappear in the next generation (F2). He concluded that one of the traits must be dominant over the other, thereby causing masking of one trait in the F1 generation. When he crossed the F1 plants, he found that 75% of the offspring in the F2 generation had the dominant phenotype, while 25% had the recessive phenotype.
79.0K