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Abstract Detail


Plant-Pest Interactions

McCall, Andrew [1].

The effects of florivory on reproduction in Nemophila menziesii .

The effects of herbivory have historically been studied in foliar tissue, even though other tissues, including flowers, are frequently damaged. Florivory, or herbivore damage to flowers, can lead to reduced fitness through direct gamete loss or through reduced pollinator visitation, and may provide a way of explaining adaptations in flower traits. In particular, petal damage may reduce the attractiveness of flowers to pollinators, thus causing pollen limitation, although this hypothesis has rarely been tested in the field. In this study, I show that both artificial and natural petal damage to the annual plant Nemophila menziesii (Hydrophyllaceae, sensu lato ) reduces both flower symmetry and pollinator visitation in the field. I also show a significant quadratic effect of artificial petal damage on lifetime female fitness components in the field, but little evidence for pollen limitation. The direct effects of petal damage at the whole plant level may be due to negative effects on resorption of petal nutrients or increased water loss through damaged petals. In total, these negative effects, both indirect and direct, may have important consequences for floral trait evolution and defense against florivory in N. menziesii , since this plant also exhibits induced resistance in flowers in response to natural florivory. Florivory involves two great selective forces on plants, pollination and herbivory, and thus could be included in more studies investigating plant adaptations to herbivory


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1 - Denison University, Biology, Box 810, Granville, OH, 43023, USA

Keywords:
Florivory
Plant-insect
herbivory
pollination.

Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P14023
Abstract ID:2550


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