| Abstract Detail
Reproductive Processes Karron, Jeffrey [1], Christopher, Dorothy [2], Semski, Wendy [3], Trapnell, Dorset [4], Smallwood , Patrick Alan [4], Mitchell, Randall [5]. Pollination, paternity and Bateman's principle in a hermaphroditic plant. Variation in male fitness is fundamental to models of reproductive trait evolution, yet is rarely quantified in flowering plants. Bateman (1948) hypothesized that male fitness variation will often exceed female fitness variation since it is usually limited by mating opportunities, rather than by resources. Although Bateman’s principle has largely been studied in dioecious animals, Bateman hypothesized that it could be extended to hermaphroditic flowering plants. Here we quantify male and female reproductive success and mate diversity to test Bateman’s two key predictions: 1) Variance in male reproductive success should be greater than the variance in female reproductive success. 2) The number of independent mating events should have a greater effect on male reproductive success than on female reproductive success. We established an experimental population of 49 Mimulus ringens (monkeyflower) plants, each trimmed to a single flower. Flowers of this species only last for a single morning, and are pollinated by wild bees. To control for position effects, we re-randomized plant positions each day of the experiment. Male parentage was successfully assigned to 98% of the sampled seeds. As Bateman predicted, male reproductive success in monkeyflower is highly variable and is strongly correlated with mate number (a positive Bateman gradient). By contrast, female reproductive success is less variable and is not associated with mate number.
1 - University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department Of Biological Sciences, Po Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
2 - University Of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Dept Of Biological Sciences, 3209 N Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
3 - UW-Milwaukee, Dept Of Bio Sci, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
4 - University of Georgia, Department of Plant Biology, 120 Carlton St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
5 - University Of Akron, Department Of Biology, Dept Of Biology, Akron, OH, 44325, United States
Keywords:
male fitness
paternity
pollination
reproductive success.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: REP1, Reproductive Processes 1
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM
Number: REP1001
Abstract ID:314
Candidate for Awards:None |
