Parachnowitsch Amy L, Caruso Christina M
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
Ecology. 2008 Jul;89(7):1802-10. doi: 10.1890/07-0555.1.
Herbivores that oviposit in flowers of animal-pollinated plants depend on pollinators for seed production and are therefore expected to choose flowers that attract pollinators. This provides a mechanism by which seed herbivores and pollinators could impose conflicting selection on floral traits. We measured phenotypic selection on floral traits of Lobelia siphilitica (Lobeliaceae) via female fitness to determine the relative strength of selection by pollinators and a specialist predispersal seed herbivore. We were able to attribute selection on flowering phenology to the herbivores. However, no selection could be attributed to pollinators, resulting in no conflicting selection on floral traits. Unlike pollinators, whose preference for certain floral traits does not always translate into higher fitness, any discrimination by seed herbivores is likely to decrease fitness of the preferred floral phenotype. Thus predispersal seed herbivores may be a significant agent of selection on floral traits.
在动物传粉植物花朵中产卵的食草动物依靠传粉者来生产种子，因此预计它们会选择吸引传粉者的花朵。这提供了一种机制，通过这种机制，种子食草动物和传粉者可能会对花的性状施加相互冲突的选择。我们通过雌性适合度来测量对半边莲（桔梗科）花性状的表型选择，以确定传粉者和一种专门的种子传播前食草动物的相对选择强度。我们能够将开花物候的选择归因于食草动物。然而，没有选择可以归因于传粉者，因此对花性状没有冲突的选择。与传粉者不同，传粉者对某些花性状的偏好并不总是转化为更高的适合度，种子食草动物的任何歧视都可能降低首选花表型的适合度。因此，种子传播前的食草动物可能是花性状选择的重要因素。
