1. |
- Santangelo, James S., et al.
(författare)
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Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural dines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.
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2. |
- Garcia, Yedra, et al.
(författare)
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Floral scent divergence across an elevational hybrid zone with varying pollinators
- 2023
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - : Springer Nature. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 201:1, s. 45-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Divergence in floral traits attractive to different pollinators can promote reproductive isolation in related species. When isolation is incomplete, hybridization may occur, which offers the opportunity to explore mechanisms underlying reproductive isolation. Recent work suggests that divergence in floral scent may frequently contribute to reproductive barriers, although such divergence has seldom been examined in species with generalized pollination. Here, we used two closely related Penstemon species, P. newberryi and P. davidsonii, and their natural hybrids from an elevational gradient with pollinator communities that are predicted to vary in their reliance on floral scent (i.e., primarily hummingbirds at low elevation vs. bees at high elevation). The species vary in a suite of floral traits, but scent is uncharacterized. To address whether scent varies along elevation and potentially contributes to reproductive isolation, we genetically characterized individuals collected at field and identified whether they were parental species or hybrids. We then characterized scent amount and composition. Although the parental species had similar total emissions, some scent characteristics (i.e., scent composition, aromatic emission) diverged between them and may contribute to their isolation. However, the species emitted similar compound sets which could explain hybridization in the contact area. Hybrids were similar to the parents for most scent traits, suggesting that their floral scent would not provide a strong barrier to backcrossing. Our study suggests floral scent may be a trait contributing to species boundaries even in plants with generalized pollination, and reinforces the idea that evolutionary pollinator transitions may involve changes in multiple floral traits.
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6. |
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7. |
- Burdon, Rosalie C. F., et al.
(författare)
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Spatiotemporal floral scent variation of Penstemon digitalis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 41:7, s. 641-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Variability in floral volatile emissions can occur temporally through floral development, during diel cycles, as well as spatially within a flower. These spatiotemporal patterns are hypothesized to provide additional information to floral visitors, but they are rarely measured, and their attendant hypotheses are even more rarely tested. In Penstemon digitalis, a plant whose floral scent has been shown to be under strong phenotypic selection for seed fitness, we investigated spatiotemporal variation in floral scent by using dynamic headspace collection, respectively solid-phase microextraction, and analyzed the volatile samples by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total volatile emission was greatest during flowering and peak pollinator activity hours, suggesting its importance in mediating ecological interactions. We also detected tissue and reward-specific compounds, consistent with the hypothesis that complexity in floral scent composition reflects several ecological functions. In particular, we found tissue-specific scents for the stigma, stamens, and staminode (a modified sterile stamen common to all Penstemons). Our findings emphasize the dynamic nature of floral scents and highlight a need for greater understanding of ecological and physiological mechanisms driving spatiotemporal patterns in scent production.
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8. |
- Burdon, Rosalie, 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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Scented nectar and the challenge of measuring honest signals in pollination
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : WILEY. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 108:5, s. 2132-2144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nectar scents are thought to function as honest signals of reward used by pollinators, but this hypothesis has rarely been tested. UsingPenstemon digitalis, we examined honest signalling of the nectar volatile (S)-(+)-linalool and pollinator responses to linalool in both field and laboratory settings. Because our previous work showed that linalool emission was associated with higher female fitness and that nectar is scented with linalool, we hypothesized that linalool was an honest signal of nectar reward. To assess honesty, we measured linalool-nectar associations including nectar volume, sugar amount, concentration and production rate for inflorescences and flowers in several populations. We also assessed whetherBombus impatiens, the main pollinator ofP. digitalisat our sites, can use linalool as a foraging signal. We supplemented real or artificial flowers in the field and laboratory with varying linalool-nectar combinations to measure pollinator behavioural responses. We found that an inflorescence's linalool emissions could be used to predict nectar rewards inP. digitalis, but this was driven by indirect associations with display size rather than directly advertising more profitable flowers. For flowers within inflorescences there was also no evidence for an association between signal and reward. Field tests of bumblebee behaviour were inconclusive. However, in laboratory assays, bumblebees generally used variation in linalool emissions to choose more profitable flowers, demonstrating they can detect differences in linalool emitted byP. digitalisand associate them with reward profitability. These results suggest experiments that decouple display size, scent and reward are necessary to assess whether (and when) bees prefer higher linalool emissions. Bees preferred nectars with lower linalool concentrations when linalool flavoured the nectar solution, suggesting the potential for conflicting pressures on scent emission in the field. Synthesis. Our results highlight the challenges of assessing function for traits important to fitness and suggest that the perception of floral signalling honesty may depend on whether pollinators use inflorescences or flowers within inflorescences when making foraging decisions. We conclude that future research on honest signalling in flowering plants, as well as its connection to phenotypic selection, should explicitly define honesty, in theoretical and experimental contexts.
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9. |
- Burdon, Rosalie, 1988-
(författare)
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The Ecology of Floral Signals in Penstemon digitalis
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis, I combined field observations and lab experiments to explore the ecological significance of floral signals in a North American wildflower, Penstemon digitalis. More specifically, to determine the potential mechanisms driving selection on floral scent, I studied how scent mediates interactions with pollinators and antagonists by (1) observing spatiotemporal variation in scent emission (2), floral volatile ability to suppress microbes (3) the honest advertisement of nectar, and (4) if scent could aid pollinator learning by reinforcing visual signals.Scent sampling of flower development, flower tissues, rewards and inflorescence day/night emission, revealed a complexity in floral scent composition and emission that could reflect several ecological functions. The floral bouquet of P. digitalis was strongest when flowers opened, primarily emitted from flower nectaries and was strongest during the day when pollinators are most active, suggesting a role in plant-pollinator interactions.Because linalool was one of the few floral compounds found in nectar where microbe growth can degrade the pollinator reward, I studied its role in plant-microbe interactions. Bacteria strains isolated from floral and vegetative tissues were exposed to varying concentrations of nectar volatiles: linalool and methyl nicotinate. Linalool inhibited bacteria growth rate from all tissue origins whereas methyl nicotinate had little effect, suggesting that microbes could drive selection on linalool emission strength. To determine the extent that linalool could honestly signal nectar availability, linalool-nectar associations were measured for inflorescences and flowers. Linalool predicted inflorescence nectar availability but not flower, exposing a limit to its honesty. Pollinator Bombus impatiens could use linalool as a foraging signal at varying concentrations, suggesting linalool could be learned and used to choose the most rewarding plants. Measurement and comparison of signal-reward associations for both olfactory and visual signals/cues of P. digitalis displays found display size and linalool honest indicators of nectar. Lab behaviour experiments showed multiple signals correlated with reward could increase bumblebee foraging efficiency and promote learning, providing an explanation for why floral displays are complex and consist of multiple signals. Together my results show that an integrated approach is required to understand the mechanisms driving the evolution of the floral phenotype.
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10. |
- Caruso, Christina M., et al.
(författare)
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Do Plants Eavesdrop on Floral Scent Signals?
- 2016
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Ingår i: Trends in Plant Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1360-1385 .- 1878-4372. ; 21:1, s. 9-15
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plants emit a diverse array of volatile organic compounds that can function as cues to other plants. Plants can use volatiles emitted by neighbors to gain information about their environment, and respond by adjusting their phenotype. Less is known about whether the many different volatile signals that plants emit are all equally likely to function as cues to other plants. We review evidence for the function of floral volatile signals and conclude that plants are as likely to perceive and respond to floral volatiles as to other, better-studied volatiles. We propose that eavesdropping on floral volatile cues is particularly likely to be adaptive because plants can respond to these cues by adjusting traits that directly affect pollination and mating.
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11. |
- Egan, Paul A., et al.
(författare)
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Pollinators and herbivores interactively shape selection on strawberry defence and attraction
- 2021
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Ingår i: Evolution Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2056-3744. ; 5:6, s. 636-643
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tripartite interactions between plants, herbivores, and pollinators hold fitness consequences for most angiosperms. However, little is known on how plants evolve in response-and in particular what the net selective outcomes are for traits of shared relevance to pollinators and herbivores. In this study, we manipulated herbivory ("presence" and "absence" treatments) and pollination ("open" and "hand pollination" treatments) in a full factorial common-garden experiment with woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.). This design allowed us to quantify the relative importance and interactive effects of herbivore- and pollinator-mediated selection on nine traits related to plant defence and attraction. Our results showed that pollinators imposed stronger selection than herbivores on traits related to both direct and indirect (i.e., tritrophic) defence. However, conflicting selection was imposed on inflorescence density: a trait that appears to be shared by herbivores and pollinators as a host plant signal. However, in all cases, selection imposed by one agent depended largely on the presence or ecological effect of the other, suggesting that dynamic patterns of selection could be a common outcome of these interactions in natural populations. As a whole, our findings highlight the significance of plant-herbivore-pollinator interactions as potential drivers of evolutionary change, and reveal that pollinators likely play an underappreciated role as selective agents on direct and in direct plant defence.
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12. |
- Garcia, Yedra, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial variation in scent emission within flowers
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Botany. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0107-055X .- 1756-1051. ; 39:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Floral scent is considered an important long-distance signal that attracts pollinators, but also has been suggested to function at shorter distances such as within-flower nectar guides or as a defense against antagonists. Indeed, in some species floral scent production and emission show spatial patterns of variation within flowers, as certain compounds are exclusively emitted from specific floral tissues. In other species, the different volatile organic compounds that constitute the floral bouquet are emitted evenly from the entire flower. Here, we summarize the current evidence on floral scent variation within flowers by combining a literature review of published data on tissue-level floral scent variation (41 species) with floral scent dissections (17 species). For each species, we recorded the total number of volatile compounds separately and grouped in major chemical classes. To facilitate comparisons across diverse species, we compared volatiles emitted by 1) the whole flower, 2) the visual floral tissues (i.e. petals and colored structures), 3) non-visual floral tissues (i.e. green parts and reproductive structures), as well as 4) the compounds emitted by both visual and non-visual tissues. Results show that floral scent variation is frequent, but by no means ubiquitous, occurring in species from distantly related groups. We discuss the two main functional hypotheses promoting floral scent variation within flowers, i.e. as a pollinator attractant at short-distances or a defensive function against antagonists, together with non-functional hypotheses (e.g. pleiotropic effects, ecological costs). We point out further directions on this topic and suggest experimental approaches testing the attractiveness of compounds emitted by different floral parts alone and in combination with other floral signals. Our synthesis provides a foundation for future studies on the functional ecology of floral scent and reinforces the idea of high complexity in floral chemical signals.
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13. |
- García, Yedra, et al.
(författare)
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Water deficit changes patterns of selection on floral signals and nectar rewards in the common morning glory
- 2023
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Ingår i: AoB Plants. - 2041-2851. ; 15:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding whether and how resource limitation alters phenotypic selection on floral traits is key to predict the evolution of plant-pollinator interactions under climate change. Two important resources predicted to decline with our changing climate are pollinators and water in the form of increased droughts. Most work, however, has studied these selective agents separately and in the case of water deficit, studies are rare. Here, we use the common morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) to investigate the effects of experimental reduction in pollinator access and water availability on floral signals and nectar rewards and their effects on phenotypic selection on these traits. We conducted a manipulative experiment in a common garden, where we grew plants in three treatments: (1) pollinator restriction, (2) water reduction and (3) unmanipulated control. Plants in pollinator restriction and control treatments were well-watered compared to water deficit. We found that in contrast to pollinator restriction, water deficit had strong effects altering floral signals and nectar rewards but also differed in the direction and strength of selection on these traits compared to control plants. Water deficit increased the opportunity for selection, and selection in this treatment favoured lower nectar volumes and larger floral sizes, which might further alter pollinator visitation. In addition, well-watered plants, both in control and pollinator deficit, showed similar patterns of selection to increase nectar volume suggesting non-pollinator-mediated selection on nectar. Our study shows that floral traits may evolve in response to reduction in water access faster than to declines in pollinators and reinforces that abiotic factors can be important agents of selection for floral traits. Although only few experimental selection studies have manipulated access to biotic and abiotic resources, our results suggest that this approach is key for understanding how pollination systems may evolve under climate change.
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14. |
- Junker, Robert R., et al.
(författare)
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Covariation and phenotypic integration in chemical communication displays : Biosynthetic constraints and eco-evolutionary implications
- 2018
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 220:3, s. 739-749
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chemical communication is ubiquitous. The identification of conserved structural elements in visual and acoustic communication is well established, but comparable information on chemical communication displays (CCDs) is lacking. We assessed the phenotypic integration of CCDs in a meta-analysis to characterize patterns of covariation in CCDs and identified functional or biosynthetically constrained modules. Poorly integrated plant CCDs (i.e. low covariation between scent compounds) support the notion that plants often utilize one or few key compounds to repel antagonists or to attract pollinators and enemies of herbivores. Animal CCDs (mostly insect pheromones) were usually more integrated than those of plants (i.e. stronger covariation), suggesting that animals communicate via fixed proportions among compounds. Both plant and animal CCDs were composed of modules, which are groups of strongly covarying compounds. Biosynthetic similarity of compounds revealed biosynthetic constraints in the covariation patterns of plant CCDs. We provide a novel perspective on chemical communication and a basis for future investigations on structural properties of CCDs. This will facilitate identifying modules and biosynthetic constraints that may affect the outcome of selection and thus provide a predictive framework for evolutionary trajectories of CCDs in plants and animals.
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15. |
- Junker, Robert R., et al.
(författare)
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Working Towards a Holistic View on Flower Traits-How Floral Scents Mediate Plant-Animal Interactions in Concert with Other Floral Characters
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of the Indian Institute of Science. - 0970-4140. ; 95:1, s. 43-67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Flowers are complex structures, synchronously displaying both olfactory and visual signals/cues in the context of a particular floral morphology, that also vary in resource quantity and quality. Despite or possibly because of this complexity, many studies focus on a single or few traits rather than studying floral phenotypes in a more integrated fashion. However, each of these distinct trait classes (signals/cues, morphology and resources) mediates interactions with floral visitors, demanding a more holistic view of flowers. In our review, we integrate floral scents into the broader context of the whole-flower phenotype. We discuss the functions of scent bouquets, colouration, morphology and rewards in flower visitor interactions from an ecological and evolutionary perspective in isolation and taken together. Studies demonstrate that floral scent bouquets can act additively or synergistically with other modalities, and that their effects on flower visitors are context-dependent. We also present field study results showing that reward levels modulate dose-dependent responses to volatiles by honeybees. To motivate studies examining complex floral phenotypes, we outline statistical approaches suited to deal with the complex multivariate datasets generated by these studies. We conclude with a discussion on why flowers display multimodal traits and suggest future research efforts. Our aim is to foster a fresh view on integrated floral phenotypes and stimulate studies exploring the combined effects of olfactory, visual, morphological and nutritional traits on flower animal interactions.
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16. |
- Kuppler, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 29:6, s. 992-1007
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimIntraspecific trait variation (ITV) within natural plant communities can be large, influencing local ecological processes and dynamics. Here, we shed light on how ITV in vegetative and floral traits responds to large‐scale abiotic and biotic gradients (i.e., climate and species richness). Specifically, we tested whether associations of ITV with temperature, precipitation and species richness were consistent with any of four hypotheses relating to stress tolerance and competition. Furthermore, we estimated the degree of correlation between ITV in vegetative and floral traits and how they vary along the gradients.LocationGlobal.Time period1975–2016.Major taxa studiedHerbaceous and woody plants.MethodsWe compiled a dataset of 18,401 measurements of the absolute extent of ITV (measured as the coefficient of variation) in nine vegetative and seven floral traits from 2,822 herbaceous and woody species at 2,372 locations.ResultsLarge‐scale associations between ITV and climate were trait specific and more prominent for vegetative traits, especially leaf morphology, than for floral traits. The ITV showed pronounced associations with climate, with lower ITV values in colder areas and higher values in drier areas. The associations of ITV with species richness were inconsistent across traits. Species‐specific associations across gradients were often idiosyncratic, and covariation in ITV was weaker between vegetative and floral traits than within the two trait groups.Main conclusionsOur results show that, depending on the traits considered, ITV either increased or decreased with climate stress and species richness, suggesting that both factors can constrain or enhance ITV, which might foster plant‐population persistence in stressful conditions. Given the species‐specific responses and covariation in ITV, associations can be hard to predict for traits and species not yet studied. We conclude that consideration of ITV can improve our understanding of how plants cope with stressful conditions and environmental change across spatial and biological scales.
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17. |
- Moritz, Kim, et al.
(författare)
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Female Salix viminalis are more severely infected by Melampsora spp. but neither sex experiences associational effects
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 6:4, s. 1154-1162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Associational effects of plant genotype or species on plant biotic interactions are common, not least for disease spread, but associational effects of plant sex on interactions have largely been ignored. Sex in dioecious plants can affect biotic interactions with herbivores and pollinators; however, its effects on plant-pathogen interactions are understudied and associational effects are unknown. In a replicated field experiment, we assessed Melampsora spp. leaf rust infection in monosexual and mixed sex plots of dioecious Salix viminalis L. to determine whether plant sex has either direct or associational effects on infection severity. We found no differences in Melampsora spp. infection severity among sexual monocultures and mixtures in our field experiment. However, female plants were overall more severely infected. In addition, we surveyed previous studies of infection in S.viminalis clones and reevaluated the studies after we assigned sex to the clones. We found that females were generally more severely infected, as in our field study. Similarly, in a survey of studies on sex-biased infection in dioecious plants, we found more female-biased infections in plant-pathogen pairs. We conclude that there was no evidence for associational plant sex effects of neighboring conspecifics for either females or males on infection severity. Instead, plant sex effects on infection act at an individual plant level. Our findings also suggest that female plants may in general be more severely affected by fungal pathogens than males.
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18. |
- Moritz, Kim, et al.
(författare)
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Plant sex effects on insect herbivores and biological control in a Short Rotation Coppice willow
- 2017
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Ingår i: Biological control (Print). - : Elsevier BV. - 1049-9644 .- 1090-2112. ; 115, s. 30-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the wild, plant sex can affect plant-herbivore interactions and higher trophic levels, including natural enemies of the herbivores. However, the possibility of manipulating plant sex to improve biological control and reduce herbivory in domesticated dioecious crops remains unexplored. The dioecious bioenergy crop, Salix viminalis, is often planted in monoclonal, and thus monosexual, fields. We investigated whether using plant clones of either sex, or mixing plants of both sexes, reduced the performance and abundance of the herbivorous pest insect Phratora vulgatissima and its main natural enemy, Anthocoris nemorum, and whether predation was affected. The herbivore laid more eggs, and the predator survived longer, on female plants in the lab. However, these effects did not translate into differences in predation rates in laboratory experiments or differential insect abundances on plants of either sex or plantation sex composition in the field. Plant genotype did have a significant effect on insect abundances, but this was due to plant traits other than sex. The results indicate that manipulating plant sex will not lead to improved biological control or reduced insect herbivory in S. viminalis energy forestry, but suggest that a focus on plant genotypic differences offers promise for improving management practices.
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19. |
- Moritz, Kim, et al.
(författare)
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Roe deer prefer mixed-sex willow stands over monosexual stands but do not discriminate between male and female plants
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental and Experimental Botany. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0098-8472 .- 1873-7307. ; 146, s. 62-67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Male and female plants of dioecious species often experience differential herbivory, possibly due to differences in defences such as secondary metabolite composition or nutritional quality. These plant sex effects on herbivory have been extensively studied for plant individuals, but not for stands/populations. For mobile herbivores, such as deer, stands may be a more relevant scale to study than individual plants. We predicted that male Salts viminalis plants should be subject to more extensive roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) browsing than female plants due to weaker defence in male plants. Furthermore, we expected that mixed-sex stands should experience more damage than monosexual stands due to positive effects of diet mixing on browsing by generalists. We tested for differences in roe deer browsing in plots that were either monosexual male or female, or a mix of male and female plants in a replicated field experiment. Roe deer browsing was estimated after one growth season with heavy herbivory. We also measured plant secondary metabolite concentrations and nitrogen content in leaves from all experimental clones to test the assumption that the sexes differed in defence or nutrients. Mixed-sex plots were more extensively browsed than monosexual plots. However, there was no difference in browsing between male and female plant individuals within mixed-sex plots or between monosexual plots. Plant secondary metabolite profiles differed between male and female plants, while nitrogen content did not. Our findings suggest that the diversified plant secondary metabolite contents of mixed-sex plots may have led to more extensive herbivory. Higher browsing of plant sex mixes may impact both natural and commercial S. viminalis stands with different sex ratios.
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20. |
- Muola, Anne, et al.
(författare)
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Direct and Pollinator-Mediated Effects of Herbivory on Strawberry and the Potential for Improved Resistance
- 2017
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Plant Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-462X. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The global decline in pollinators has partly been blamed on pesticides, leading some to propose pesticide-free farming as an option to improve pollination. However, herbivores are likely to be more prevalent in pesticide-free environments, requiring knowledge of their effects on pollinators, and alternative crop protection strategies to mitigate any potential pollination reduction. Strawberry leaf beetles (SLB) Galerucella spp. are important strawberry pests in Northern Europe and Russia. Given that SLB attack both leaf and flower tissue, we hypothesized pollinators would discriminate against SLB-damaged strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca, cultivar 'Rugen'), leading to lower pollination success and yield. In addition we screened the most common commercial cultivar 'Rugen' and wild Swedish F. vesca genotypes for SLB resistance to assess the potential for inverse breeding to restore high SLB resistance in cultivated strawberry. Behavioral observations in a controlled experiment revealed that the local pollinator fauna avoided strawberry flowers with SLB-damaged petals. Low pollination, in turn, resulted in smaller more deformed fruits. Furthermore, SLB-damaged flowers produced smaller fruits even when they were hand pollinated, showing herbivore damage also had direct effects on yield, independent of indirect effects on pollination. We found variable resistance in wild woodland strawberry to SLB and more resistant plant genotypes than the cultivar 'Rugen' were identified. Efficient integrated pest management strategies should be employed to mitigate both direct and indirect effects of herbivory for cultivated strawberry, including high intrinsic plant resistance.
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21. |
- Palmqvist, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in Floral Scent and Petal Reflectance Between Diploid and Tetraploid Chamerion angustifolium
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-701X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genome duplication in plants is thought to be a route to speciation due to cytotype incompatibility. However, to reduce cross-pollination between cytotypes in animal-pollinated species, distinctive floral phenotypes, which would allow pollinator-mediated assortative mating between flowers, are also expected. Chamerion angustifolium is a Holarctic species that forms a hybrid zone between diploid and tetraploid populations in the North American Rocky Mountains. Extensive research has shown that these cytotypes differ in many ways, including some floral traits, and that pollinators can discriminate between cytotypes, leading to assortative mating. However, two signals commonly used by insect pollinators have not been measured for this species, namely petal colour and floral scent. Using greenhouse-grown diploids and tetraploids of C. angustifolium from the ploidy hybrid-zone in the North American Rocky Mountains, we show that both floral scent signals and petal reflectance differ between cytotypes. These differences, along with differences in flower size shown previously, could help explain pollinator-mediated assortative mating observed in previous studies. However, these differences in floral phenotypes may vary in importance to pollinators. While the differences in scent included common floral volatiles readily detected by bumblebees, the differences in petal reflectance may not be perceived by bees based on their visual sensitivity across the spectra. Thus, our results suggest that differences in floral volatile emissions are more likely to contribute to pollinator discrimination between cytotypes and highlight the importance of understanding the sensory systems of pollinators when examining floral signals.
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22. |
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23. |
- Parachnowitsch, Amy L., et al.
(författare)
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Evolutionary ecology of nectar
- 2019
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Ingår i: Annals of Botany. - : Oxford University Press. - 0305-7364 .- 1095-8290. ; 123:2, s. 247-261
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Floral nectar is an important determinant of plant–pollinator interactions and an integral component of pollination syndromes, suggesting it is under pollinator-mediated selection. However, compared to floral display traits, we know little about the evolutionary ecology of nectar. Combining a literature review with a meta-analysis approach, we summarize the evidence for heritable variation in nectar traits and link this variation to pollinator response and plant fitness. We further review associations between nectar traits and floral signals and discuss them in the context of honest signalling and targets of selection.Scope: Although nectar is strongly influenced by environmental factors, heritable variation in nectar production rate has been documented in several populations (mean h2 = 0.31). Almost nothing is known about heritability of other nectar traits, such as sugar and amino acid concentrations. Only a handful of studies have quantified selection on nectar traits, and few find statistically significant selection. Pollinator responses to nectar traits indicate they may drive selection, but studies tying pollinator preferences to plant fitness are lacking. So far, only one study conclusively identified pollinators as selective agents on a nectar trait, and the role of microbes, herbivores, nectar robbers and abiotic factors in nectar evolution is largely hypothetical. Finally, there is a trend for positive correlations among floral cues and nectar traits, indicating honest signalling of rewards.Conclusions: Important progress can be made by studies that quantify current selection on nectar in natural populations, as well as experimental approaches that identify the target traits and selective agents involved. Signal–reward associations suggest that correlational selection may shape evolution of nectar traits, and studies exploring these more complex forms of natural selection are needed. Many questions about nectar evolution remain unanswered, making this a field ripe for future research.
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24. |
- Parachnowitsch, Amy L.
(författare)
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Interpreting local adaptation studies
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ideas in Ecology and Evolution. - : Queen's University Library. - 1918-3178. ; 6:1, s. 37-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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25. |
- Parachnowitsch, Amy L., et al.
(författare)
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Lobelia siphilitica Plants That Escape Herbivory in Time Also Have Reduced Latex Production
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:5, s. e37745-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Flowering phenology is an important determinant of a plant's reproductive success. Both assortative mating and niche construction can result in the evolution of correlations between phenology and other reproductive, functional, and life history traits. Correlations between phenology and herbivore defence traits are particularly likely because the timing of flowering can allow a plant to escape herbivory. To test whether herbivore escape and defence are correlated, we estimated phenotypic and genetic correlations between flowering phenology and latex production in greenhouse-grown Lobelia siphilitica L. (Lobeliaceae). Lobelia siphilitica plants that flower later escape herbivory by a specialist pre-dispersal seed predator, and thus should invest fewer resources in defence. Consistent with this prediction, we found that later flowering was phenotypically and genetically correlated with reduced latex production. To test whether herbivore escape and latex production were costly, we also measured four fitness correlates. Flowering phenology was negatively genetically correlated with three out of four fitness estimates, suggesting that herbivore escape can be costly. In contrast, we did not find evidence for costs of latex production. Generally, our results suggest that herbivore escape and defence traits will not evolve independently in L. siphilitica.
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26. |
- Parachnowitsch, Amy L., et al.
(författare)
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Neighbours matter : natural selection on plant size depends on the identity and diversity of the surrounding community
- 2014
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0269-7653 .- 1573-8477. ; 28:6, s. 1139-1153
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant diversity can affect ecological processes such as competition and herbivory, and these ecological processes can act as drivers of evolutionary change. However, surprisingly little is known about how ecological variation in plant diversity can alter selective regimes on members of the community. Here, we examine how plant diversity at two different scales (genotypic and species diversity) impacts natural selection on a focal plant species, the common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). Because competition is frequently relaxed in both genotypically and species rich plant communities, we hypothesized that increasing diversity would weaken selection on competitive ability. Changes in plant diversity can also affect associated arthropod communities. Therefore, we hypothesized that diversity would alter selection on plant traits mediating these interactions, such as herbivory related traits. We grew 24 focal O. biennis genotypes within four different neighbourhoods: genotypic monocultures or polycultures of O. biennis, and species monocultures or polycultures of old-field species that commonly co-occur with O. biennis. We then measured genotypic selection on nine plant traits known to be ecologically important for competition and herbivory. Focal O. biennis plants were smaller, flowered for shorter periods of time, had lower fitness, and experienced greater attack from specialist predispersal seed predators when grown with conspecifics versus heterospecifics. While neither conspecific nor heterospecific diversity altered trait means, both types of diversity altered the strength of selection on focal O. biennis plants. Specifically, selection on plant biomass was stronger in conspecific monocultures versus polycultures, but weaker in heterospecific monocultures versus polycultures. We found no evidence of selection on plant traits that mediate insect interactions, despite differences in arthropod communities on plants surrounded by conspecifics versus heterospecifics. Our data demonstrate that plant genotypic and species diversity can act as agents of natural selection, potentially driving evolutionary changes in plant communities.
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27. |
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28. |
- Saunders, Manu E., et al.
(författare)
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Bringing ecology blogging into the scientific fold : measuring reach and impact of science community blogs
- 2017
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Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 4:10
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The popularity of science blogging has increased in recent years, but the number of academic scientists who maintain regular blogs is limited. The role and impact of science communication blogs aimed at general audiences is often discussed, but the value of science community blogs aimed at the academic community has largely been overlooked. Here, we focus on our own experiences as bloggers to argue that science community blogs are valuable to the academic community. We use data fromour own blogs (n=7) to illustrate some of the factors influencing reach and impact of science community blogs. We then discuss the value of blogs as a standalone medium, where rapid communication of scholarly ideas, opinions and short observational notes can enhance scientific discourse, and discussion of personal experiences can provide indirect mentorship for junior researchers and scientists from underrepresented groups. Finally, we argue that science community blogs can be treated as a primary source and provide some key points to consider when citing blogs in peer-reviewed literature.
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