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Floral integration and pollinator diversity in the generalized plant-pollinator system of Alstroemeria ligtu (Alstroemeriaceae)

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Abstract

Floral integration may result from the combined effects of pollinator-mediated selection, genetic correlations and abiotic factors. Thus, by sampling a set of populations in the field and examining their variation of floral correlations in relation to pollinators and abiotic factors, we intended to shed light on the ecological factors underlying the evolution of floral integration. In this study, floral integration patterns and the composition of pollinator assemblage were characterized across ten populations of Alstroemeria ligtu to test the following: (1) Whether the patterns of floral integration estimated at population level covary with the composition of local pollinator assemblage, climate and/or geographic distance. (2) Whether the magnitude of floral integration decreases with the number or the morphological variability of pollinators. (3) Whether the behavior of the three most widespread pollinators is affected by floral integration. Our results indicated that populations with similar patterns of integration showed greater similitude in pollinator assemblages, but that this was not related to climate or geographic distance. We also found that the most widespread pollinator, Centris nigerrima, invested lower handling time in populations with higher levels of floral integration. The magnitude of floral integration was not related to taxonomical diversity, yet, unexpectedly, correlated positively with the variability of pollinator proboscis length. We suggest that variation in the magnitude and pattern of floral integration across the species range was related to the composition of pollinator assemblage, and not to pollinator diversity per se, nor to climatic variables. A. ligtu was visited by numerous pollinators, but floral integration patterns are likely shaped by only a subset of them, such as C. nigerrima, which is sensitive to variations in floral architecture.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank L. Carrasco, M. Zúñiga, P. Salinas, V. Durán, T. Poch, M.J. Ramírez, and D. Lillo for their help during the fieldwork; S. Poch for providing the artwork of A. ligtu simsii (Fig. 1a); and F. Fontúrbel for his statistical analysis support. We thank to valuable comments and suggestions by the associate editor (J. M. Gómez) and two anonymous reviewers. Financial backing for this study was obtained from Fondecyt 11110120 to A.G, and ICM P05-002, the Millennium Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), Grant P05-002 from Mideplan, PFB 23 from Conicyt to FP. We are grateful to the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) and Jardín Botánico Nacional of Chile for granting permits to work on their estate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile

    Alejandra V. González & Maureen M. Murúa

  2. Fundación Jardín Botánico Nacional, Calle Camino el Olivar 305, Viña del Mar, Chile

    Maureen M. Murúa

  3. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, CP 6513677, Santiago, Chile

    Fernanda Pérez

  4. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile

    Fernanda Pérez

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  1. Alejandra V. González
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  2. Maureen M. Murúa
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  3. Fernanda Pérez
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Correspondence to Alejandra V. González.

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González, A.V., Murúa, M.M. & Pérez, F. Floral integration and pollinator diversity in the generalized plant-pollinator system of Alstroemeria ligtu (Alstroemeriaceae). Evol Ecol 29, 63–75 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-014-9746-3

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