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Strength through unity: spatial affinity between morphs improves fitness in incompatible heterostylous Melochia (Malvaceae) species

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Abstract

In heterostylous plants, both stylar polymorphism and incompatibility system favor legitimate pollination among individuals. Weak or partial expression of incompatibility may ensure progeny when mates or pollinators are scarce in unstable habitats, but under these conditions plants with heteromorphic incompatibility would be in disadvantage. In this work we determine how the spatial distribution of morphs and the effect of proximity to the nearest potential mates affect plants’ reproductive output in four Melochia species. The general prediction of decreasing reproductive success with an increasing isolation of floral morphs in plants with heteromorphic incompatibility was corroborated only in one species (i.e. M. tomentosa). Meanwhile, the other species exhibit a spatial affinity between morphs (i.e. the number of individuals with the nearest neighbor of the opposite morph exceeds expectations upon a random distribution). For M. savannarum and M. villosa we could not detect any effect of proximity to potential mates on the seed-ovule ratio. This may be due to: (1) existence of pollinators with long flying distances, like butterflies, in the populations and/or, (2) the possible occurrence of resource limitation. Spatial affinity between morphs in populations of heterostylous plants with heteromorphic incompatibility system increases reproductive success and may facilitate colonization of ephemeral habitats.

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Acknowledgments

We thanks to A. Pérez-Obregón, D. Sánchez and A. Vale for field assistant. We thanks also to A. Vale and D. Rojas for many suggestions for manuscript improvement. This research was supported by DGICYT (CGL2009-10466), FEDER funds from the EU, CYTED (409AC0369), and the Xunta de Galicia (INCITE09-3103009PR). The work of V. Ferrero was funded by a postdoctoral contract of the Xunta de Galicia.

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  1. Centro de Estudios Jardín Botánico de Villa Clara, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas, Carretera a Camajuaní km 5.5, 54830, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba

    Michel Faife-Cabrera

  2. Department of Plant Biology and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, As Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, Spain

    Michel Faife-Cabrera, Luis Navarro & Victoria Ferrero

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  1. Michel Faife-Cabrera
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  2. Luis Navarro
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Correspondence to Luis Navarro.

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Faife-Cabrera, M., Navarro, L. & Ferrero, V. Strength through unity: spatial affinity between morphs improves fitness in incompatible heterostylous Melochia (Malvaceae) species. J Plant Res 128, 139–146 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0668-5

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