botanyoneHow pollinators may influence the integration and developmental robustness of angiosperm flowers is still unknown. Using geometric morphometrics, Gómez et al. studied the evolution of the phenotypic variation, disparity and integration of the corolla in 111 Brassicaceae, and explored the role of pollinators in mediating its evolution.
Floral integration and robustness were evolutionary labile and varied among pollination niches. Whereas plants visited by efficient bees and beeflies displayed integrated corollas, those visited by nocturnal moths had corollas with high phenotypic variation and disparity. This suggests that pollinators can influence the evolution of important developmental attributes of the corolla even in plants with generalized pollination systems and conserved floral bauplans.
William Salter
