Stehlik Ivana, Caspersen John P, Barrett Spencer C H
Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
Proc Biol Sci. 2006 Feb 22;273(1585):387-94. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3317.
The spatial context of reproduction is of crucial importance to plants because of their sessile habit. Since pollen and seed dispersal is often restricted, mating success is likely to depend on the quantity and quality of mates in local neighbourhoods. Here we use neighbourhood models to investigate the spatial ecology of pollination and mating in Narcissus assoanus, a sexually polymorphic plant with two mating morphs that differ in style length. By mapping individuals in eight populations from southwestern France, we investigated the influence of the density and morph identity of plants at different spatial scales on variation in female fertility. By using inferences on the expected patterns of pollen transfer based on floral morphology, we were able to predict the quantitative relations between local morph ratios and variation in fertility. Our analyses revealed differences in the spatial clustering of morphs and in their response to plant density and morph identity within local neighbourhoods. Mating success in N. assoanus was characterized by both density- and frequency-dependent processes, a condition that may be a general feature of the spatial ecology of plant mating.
由于植物固着生长的习性，繁殖的空间背景对它们至关重要。由于花粉和种子传播往往受到限制，交配成功率可能取决于当地附近配偶的数量和质量。在这里，我们使用邻域模型来研究阿氏水仙授粉和交配的空间生态学，阿氏水仙是一种具有两种交配形态且花柱长度不同的性多态植物。通过绘制法国西南部八个种群的个体分布图，我们研究了不同空间尺度下植物密度和形态特征对雌性育性变异的影响。通过基于花形态对花粉转移的预期模式进行推断，我们能够预测当地形态比例与育性变异之间的定量关系。我们的分析揭示了形态在空间聚类上的差异，以及它们对当地邻域内植物密度和形态特征的响应。阿氏水仙的交配成功率具有密度依赖和频率依赖过程的特征，这种情况可能是植物交配空间生态学的一个普遍特征。
