Yin-Mei Ma, Yong-Peng Cha, Zhao Tong, Jie Zhang, Qing‐Jun Li
{"title":"The nonlinear change in pollinator assemblages and self-mating syndromes of Primula atrodentata along elevation gradients","authors":"Yin-Mei Ma, Yong-Peng Cha, Zhao Tong, Jie Zhang, Qing‐Jun Li","doi":"10.1093/jpe/rtac109","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n The reproductive strategies of alpine plants are often altered by environmental changes caused by changes in the spatial distribution of the gradient. However, few studies have investigated whether reproductive patterns of the same species vary with elevation. Three natural populations of Primula atrodentata, which are distributed in the eastern Himalayas and have a long flowering period, were selected along the elevation gradients in Shergyla Mountain, Tibet, China. Morph ratio investigation, floral trait measurement, pollinator observation, and manipulated pollination experiments were conducted to explore the changes in self-compatibility and floral traits associated with the selfing syndrome along elevation gradients. We found that the breeding system of the S-morph is facultative outcrossing, and that of the L-morph is obligatory outcrossing. We further found that with increasing elevation, the number of pollen and ovules, anther-stigma distance, and inbreeding depression index first increased and then decreased, whereas the seeds per fruit and seed setting rate under hand self-pollination, pollen limitation, and self-incompatibility index tended to decrease first, but then increased. In addition, pollinator diversity and visiting frequency were the highest at the middle elevation (4050 population), which can better explain the non-linear change in self-fertility with elevation. Our findings provide insights into the evolutionary pattern of self-compatibility in alpine plants along elevational gradients.","PeriodicalId":50085,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Plant Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Plant Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtac109","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The reproductive strategies of alpine plants are often altered by environmental changes caused by changes in the spatial distribution of the gradient. However, few studies have investigated whether reproductive patterns of the same species vary with elevation. Three natural populations of Primula atrodentata, which are distributed in the eastern Himalayas and have a long flowering period, were selected along the elevation gradients in Shergyla Mountain, Tibet, China. Morph ratio investigation, floral trait measurement, pollinator observation, and manipulated pollination experiments were conducted to explore the changes in self-compatibility and floral traits associated with the selfing syndrome along elevation gradients. We found that the breeding system of the S-morph is facultative outcrossing, and that of the L-morph is obligatory outcrossing. We further found that with increasing elevation, the number of pollen and ovules, anther-stigma distance, and inbreeding depression index first increased and then decreased, whereas the seeds per fruit and seed setting rate under hand self-pollination, pollen limitation, and self-incompatibility index tended to decrease first, but then increased. In addition, pollinator diversity and visiting frequency were the highest at the middle elevation (4050 population), which can better explain the non-linear change in self-fertility with elevation. Our findings provide insights into the evolutionary pattern of self-compatibility in alpine plants along elevational gradients.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Plant Ecology (JPE) serves as an important medium for ecologists to present research findings and discuss challenging issues in the broad field of plants and their interactions with biotic and abiotic environment. The JPE will cover all aspects of plant ecology, including plant ecophysiology, population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology and landscape ecology as well as conservation ecology, evolutionary ecology, and theoretical ecology.