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Pollinator-mediated mating restriction between sympatric varieties of yellow lady’s slipper orchids (Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb.)

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Abstract

A predominant theme in the study of orchid evolution has been the importance of floral traits contributing to pollinator-mediated isolating barriers (i.e., floral isolation). However, few studies have quantified the contribution of floral isolation in sympatric orchid populations. Cypripedium parviflorum vars. makasin and pubescens are excellent taxa to test the strength of floral isolation because of their recent phylogenetic separation, overlapping flowering phenologies, and sympatric populations that can lack intermediate morphologies. In this paper, we use sympatric populations to (1) test for pre-mating and early-acting post-mating reproductive isolating barriers, (2) quantify genetic differentiation among populations using allozyme loci, and (3) document floral size differences between varieties. Pollen tracking experiments using fluorescent powders revealed minimal inter-varietal pollen movement. Across two sympatric sites, only 4 inter-varietal pollinations were observed among 52 var. makasin pollinations and 40 var. pubescens pollinations. All of these inter-varietal pollinations had var. makasin as the pollen donor. In contrast, artificial crosses within and between the varieties revealed no statistically significant differences in fruit set, seed weight, or embryo morphology. Allozyme data are consistent with restricted inter-varietal gene flow, showing strong allele frequency differences between the varieties across multiple loci. In a clustering analysis, these differences caused the varieties to group taxonomically and not by their geographic location. These data along with statistically significant morphological differences between the varieties strongly suggest the existence of a pollinator-mediated isolating barrier. The possible nature of the isolating barrier is discussed as well as the likelihood of other late acting post-zygotic barriers.

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Acknowledgments

We thank L. E. Wallace for assisting with the electrophoretic work while at William and Mary as well as contributing to many stimulating conversations about lady’s slippers. Beth Everett assisted with collecting the viability data and we are grateful for her care and patience. Charles Sheviak and an anonymous reviewer provided critical comments on a previous version of this manuscript and we thank them for helping to improve the quality of this publication. Project funding was provided by a faculty research grant from the College of William and Mary.

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  1. Department of Biology, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23187-8795, USA

    Martha A. Case & Todd J. Bierbaum

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Correspondence to Martha A. Case.

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Case, M.A., Bierbaum, T.J. Pollinator-mediated mating restriction between sympatric varieties of yellow lady’s slipper orchids (Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb.). Plant Syst Evol 299, 1721–1735 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0828-4

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