Rodríguez-Morales Dulce, Aguirre-Jaimes Armando, García-Franco José G
Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa 91190, VC, Mexico.
Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, VC, Mexico.
Plants (Basel). 2024 Feb 17;13(4):547. doi: 10.3390/plants13040547.
Florivores consume floral structures with negative effects on plant fitness and pollinator attraction. Several studies have evaluated these consequences in hermaphroditic plants, but little is known about the effects on monoecious and dioecious species. We characterize the florivory and its effects on floral visitors and reproductive success in a monoecious population of . Five categories of florivory were established according to the petal area consumed. Visits were recorded in male and female flowers within the different damage categories. Reproductive success was evaluated through fruit number and weight, as well as the number of seeds per fruit. Our results show that the weevil is the main florivore, and it mainly damages the female flowers. Hymenoptera were recorded as the most frequent visitors of both male and female flowers. Male and female flowers showed differences in visit frequency, which decreases as flower damage increases. Reproductive success was negatively related to the level of damage. We found that florivory is common in the population of , which can exert a strong selective pressure by making the flowers less attractive and reducing the number of seeds per fruit. Future studies are needed to know how florivores affect plant male fitness.
食花动物食用花结构，对植物适合度和传粉者吸引力产生负面影响。一些研究评估了雌雄同体植物中的这些后果，但对于雌雄同株和雌雄异株物种的影响知之甚少。我们描述了一种雌雄同株植物种群中的食花情况及其对花访客和繁殖成功率的影响。根据花瓣被消耗的面积确定了五类食花情况。记录了不同损伤类别中雄花和雌花的访客情况。通过果实数量和重量以及每个果实的种子数量评估繁殖成功率。我们的结果表明，象鼻虫是主要的食花动物，它主要损害雌花。膜翅目昆虫被记录为雄花和雌花中最常见的访客。雄花和雌花在访客频率上存在差异，随着花损伤的增加而降低。繁殖成功率与损伤程度呈负相关。我们发现食花现象在该植物种群中很常见，它会通过使花吸引力降低和减少每个果实的种子数量来施加强大的选择压力。未来需要开展研究以了解食花动物如何影响植物的雄性适合度。
