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Plant patch structure influences plant fitness via antagonistic and mutualistic interactions but in different directions

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Abstract

Plant patch structure and environmental context can influence the outcome of antagonistic and mutualistic plant–insect interactions, leading to spatially variable fitness effects for plants. We investigated the effects of herbivory and pollen limitation on plant reproductive performance in 28 patches of the self-compatible perennial herb Scrophularia nodosa and assessed how such effects varied with plant patch size, plant density and tree cover. Both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions had strong effects on plant reproductive performance. Leaf feeding from herbivores reduced both fruit production and seed germination, and leaf herbivory increased with plant patch size. Experimentally hand-pollinated flowers produced more seeds than open-pollinated flowers, and pollen limitation was more severe in patches with fewer plants. Our study on S. nodosa is one of few which documents that plant patch structure influences the outcome of both antagonistic and mutualistic plant–insect interactions. The results thus provide an example of how variation in plant patch structure and environmental factors can lead to spatially variable fitness effects from mutualistic and antagonistic interactions.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Cecilia Lind Lindkvist for field assistance and Johanne Ericson, Caroline Essenberg and Tove Porseryd for lab assistance. We also thank Steven D. Johnson for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country Sweden in which the experiments were performed.

Author contribution statement

PA, JE and PAH conceived and designed the experiments. PA performed experiments and collected data. PA and PAH analysed the data. PA, JE, and PAH wrote the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Petter Andersson, Johan Ehrlén & Peter A. Hambäck

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  1. Petter Andersson
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  2. Johan Ehrlén
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  3. Peter A. Hambäck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter A. Hambäck.

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Communicated by Katherine L. Gross.

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Andersson, P., Ehrlén, J. & Hambäck, P.A. Plant patch structure influences plant fitness via antagonistic and mutualistic interactions but in different directions. Oecologia 180, 1175–1182 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3532-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3532-y

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