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Floral traits variation, legitimate pollination, and nectar robbing in Polygala vayredae (Polygalaceae)

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Ecological Research

Abstract

The variation of floral morphology and its effect on the flower visitors of Polygala vayredae Costa (Polygalaceae), a narrow endemic species from the Oriental pre-Pyrenees, were examined. First, to account for the main floral reward (i.e., nectar), the relationship between the dimensions of the nectar gland and nectar production was investigated. Second, floral traits variation was assessed within and between the three most representative populations of the species. Finally, the role of several floral traits in the female fitness was evaluated. Furthermore, as nectar robbing was highly frequent, preferences of robbers for specific floral traits and their impact on legitimate pollinations were also evaluated. The flowers of this species are characterized by significant variations in floral characteristics and nectar rewards. A significant and positive correlation between the nectar gland dimensions and nectar production per flower was observed, with the gland dimensions being a good measure to infer the rewards offered by the flowers of P. vayredae. In general, corolla traits were significant and positively correlated with each other. Nectar was revealed to be an important trait in flower–visitor interactions, with legitimate pollinations being primarily influenced by this floral reward. Negative correlations between robbing frequency and legitimate pollinations were observed in two of the studied populations, and positive correlations between flower size and robbing frequency were observed in one population. An indirect negative selection over phenotypic floral traits mediated by nectar robbers is proposed.

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Fig. 2a, b

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Departamento de Medi Ambient of Generalitat de Cataluña and the Consorsi d’Alta Garrotxa for allowing this research to happen and to Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa for all of the support provided. The authors are grateful to Dr. João Loureiro, to Dr. José María Gómez, and to the two anonymous reviewers for their critical reading of the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Dr. Jorge Domínguez for enabling the use of the epifluorescence microscope and to Dr. Susana Loureiro for the helpful discussion on statistical analysis. The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) financed the work of Sílvia Castro (FCT/BD/10901/2002). The work was partially financed under grants PGIDT04PXIC31003PN from the Xunta de Galicia and BOS2003-07924-CO2-02 from the Spanish DGICYT to Luis Navarro.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sílvia Castro

    Present address: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, 128 01, Prague, Czech Republic

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CESAM and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Sílvia Castro & Paulo Silveira

  2. Department of Plant Biology and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, As Lagoas-Marcosende, 36200, Vigo, Spain

    Sílvia Castro & Luis Navarro

Authors
  1. Sílvia Castro
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  2. Paulo Silveira
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  3. Luis Navarro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sílvia Castro.

Appendix

Appendix

Factor coordinates of the floral traits (corolla tube, keel, crest, and wing) obtained from the principal component analysis (PCA) performed for each of the studied populations of Polygala vayredae.

Population

Montmajor

Serrat dels Boixos

Colldecarrera

Floral traits

Factor 1

Factor 2

Factor 1

Factor 2

Factor 1

Factor 2

Corolla tube

−0.7300

0.5766

−0.7572

−0.4436

−0.5833

0.7265

Keel

−0.8525

−0.3337

−0.8375

0.2602

−0.8423

−0.2853

Crest

−0.7720

−0.5495

−0.6087

0.7203

−0.6810

−0.6250

Wing

−0.8096

0.3556

−0.8130

−0.3942

−0.8266

0.2931

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Castro, S., Silveira, P. & Navarro, L. Floral traits variation, legitimate pollination, and nectar robbing in Polygala vayredae (Polygalaceae). Ecol Res 24, 47–55 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0481-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0481-5

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