Growing a fruit is only one way of passing your genes on to the next generation if you’re a plant. You could also send pollen to another plant. But what factors influence siring success? Dorothy Christopher and...
The consequences of delayed selfing by reproductive assurance for selection on flower size in mixed-mating species is relevant to understand the evolution of plant breeding systems.
Enantiostyly, a reproductive system characterized by heteromorphic flowers with either left or right style deflection, compels reciprocal pollen transfer between floral types. The potential outcrossing advantage of...
Seed production of plants is rarely maximized, because it is limited by pollen receipt. Previous theories have shown that ecological mechanisms can drive the evolution of pollen limitation. Devaux et al.’s model shows...
Europe has a long history of human use of grassland ecosystems as hay meadows, yet these ecosystems have very high biodiversity. These ecosystems have recently become threatened by changing land use patterns and...
Humans have transformed landscapes, leaving remnant habitats embedded within a complex matrix. For many plants, the associated factors of decreased population size and increased land-use intensity surrounding them are...
Habitat variations influence the richness and composition of insect guilds. This affects plant reproduction, which depends upon functional relationships with insects involving both pollination and predation. The impact...
Success in reproduction is subject to the successful initiation as well as successful completion of a chain of consecutive events starting from flower formation and ending with viable seed production. A recent article...
Pollinators are often given precedence as the primary drivers behind the evolution of floral traits. Yet a growing body of research is beginning to stress the importance of other significant selective agents...
Summit areas of oceanic islands constitute some of the most isolated ecosystems on earth and are highly vulnerable to climate change and introduced species. Within the unique high-elevation communities of Tenerife...