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Oviposition choices by a pre-dispersal seed predator (Hylemya sp.)

II. A positive association between female choice and fruit set

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Summary

Pre-dispersal seed predators must choose proper hosts and flowers on those hosts that have a high probability of setting seed. In this study, I documented that flowers of Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae) chosen by a pre-dispersal seed predator (Anthomyiidae: Hylemya sp.) had a higher probability of seed set than flowers the fly did not choose. I experimentally tested the hypothesis that Hylemya uses a post-fertilization cue in making oviposition choices. I found no evidence for this hypothesis.

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Author notes

  1. Alison K. Brody

    Present address: the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 81224, Crested Butte, CO, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Alison K. Brody

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  1. Alison K. Brody
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Brody, A.K. Oviposition choices by a pre-dispersal seed predator (Hylemya sp.). Oecologia 91, 63–67 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317242

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317242

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