Do hybrids help a plant expand their range, or do they get in the way?
While hybrid plants might be less successful than their parents, if enough survive they can backcross with a parent species. This can help a parent colonise a new territory.
Tag: fitness
Are ants a benefit or a detriment when they occupy a plant? New research says they may be both.
Research in two new papers shows how ants can interfere with pollination, but this interference is complicated.
When weather becomes less predictable, so do reproductive traits
Both within a plant and within a population, trait variability increases with unpredictable precipitation.
Tricky flowers: how floral variation in a food-deceptive orchid is maintained over generations
Sometimes it’s a good idea not to send a consistent message to your pollinators.
Evolution of increased vigour associated with allopolyploidization in a newly formed invasive species
Does flower height matter to bats?
Is the best way for a plant to attract bats as pollinators to hoist their flowers up high?
The best pollen for Kangaroo Paws is just a leap away
Where does the best pollen for reproduction come from? For Anigozanthos manglesii it comes from surprisingly close neighbours.
Modelling reveals how fire and water shape the life strategies of Pinus halepensis
Is it better to grow fast, or to grow slowly and invest in the future? Structural Equation Modeling reveals that Pinus halepensis cannot decide.
Can a cold snap put a stop to sex?
The alpine plant Ranunculus kuepferi can face spring frosts while growing reproductive organs. Does the cold explain why sometimes the plant doesn’t bother with sex?
Correlations of polyploidy, apomixis and alpine environmental gradients
Plant injury can reset the ageing clock in plants but only slightly alleviates senescence
Demographic consequences of genetic variation for a plant invasion
How environmental stress from transplanting into foreign habitats influences inbreeding depression
Inbreeding depression does not increase in foreign environments: A field experimental study.
Hydraulic adjustment in a pine species across its range
The ability of P. canariensis to inhabit a wide range of ecosystems seems to be associated with high phenotypic plasticity.