Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators

Inbreeding in plants typically reduces individual fitness but may also alter ecological interactions. This study examined the effect of inbreeding in the mixed-mating annual Mimulus guttatus on visitation by pollinators (Bombus impatiens) in greenhouse experiments. Previous studies of M. guttatus ha...

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Autores principales: Carr, David E., Roulston, T’ai H., Hart, Haley
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103763/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25036035
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101463
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author Carr, David E.
Roulston, T’ai H.
Hart, Haley
author_facet Carr, David E.
Roulston, T’ai H.
Hart, Haley
author_sort Carr, David E.
collection PubMed
description Inbreeding in plants typically reduces individual fitness but may also alter ecological interactions. This study examined the effect of inbreeding in the mixed-mating annual Mimulus guttatus on visitation by pollinators (Bombus impatiens) in greenhouse experiments. Previous studies of M. guttatus have shown that inbreeding reduced corolla size, flower number, and pollen quantity and quality. Using controlled crosses, we produced inbred and outbred families from three different M. guttatus populations. We recorded the plant genotypes that bees visited and the number of flowers probed per visit. In our first experiment, bees were 31% more likely to visit outbred plants than those selfed for one generation and 43% more likely to visit outbred plants than those selfed for two generations. Inbreeding had only a small effect on the number of flowers probed once bees arrived at a genotype. These differences were explained partially by differences in mean floral display and mean flower size, but even when these variables were controlled statistically, the effect of inbreeding remained large and significant. In a second experiment we quantified pollen viability from inbred and self plants. Bees were 37–54% more likely to visit outbred plants, depending on the population, even when controlling for floral display size. Pollen viability proved to be as important as floral display in predicting pollinator visitation in one population, but the overall explanatory power of a multiple regression model was weak. Our data suggested that bees use cues in addition to display size, flower size, and pollen reward quality in their discrimination of inbred plants. Discrimination against inbred plants could have effects on plant fitness and thereby reinforce selection for outcrossing. Inbreeding in plant populations could also reduce resource quality for pollinators, potentially resulting in negative effects on pollinator populations.
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spelling pubmed-41037632014-07-21 Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators Carr, David E. Roulston, T’ai H. Hart, Haley PLoS One Research Article Inbreeding in plants typically reduces individual fitness but may also alter ecological interactions. This study examined the effect of inbreeding in the mixed-mating annual Mimulus guttatus on visitation by pollinators (Bombus impatiens) in greenhouse experiments. Previous studies of M. guttatus have shown that inbreeding reduced corolla size, flower number, and pollen quantity and quality. Using controlled crosses, we produced inbred and outbred families from three different M. guttatus populations. We recorded the plant genotypes that bees visited and the number of flowers probed per visit. In our first experiment, bees were 31% more likely to visit outbred plants than those selfed for one generation and 43% more likely to visit outbred plants than those selfed for two generations. Inbreeding had only a small effect on the number of flowers probed once bees arrived at a genotype. These differences were explained partially by differences in mean floral display and mean flower size, but even when these variables were controlled statistically, the effect of inbreeding remained large and significant. In a second experiment we quantified pollen viability from inbred and self plants. Bees were 37–54% more likely to visit outbred plants, depending on the population, even when controlling for floral display size. Pollen viability proved to be as important as floral display in predicting pollinator visitation in one population, but the overall explanatory power of a multiple regression model was weak. Our data suggested that bees use cues in addition to display size, flower size, and pollen reward quality in their discrimination of inbred plants. Discrimination against inbred plants could have effects on plant fitness and thereby reinforce selection for outcrossing. Inbreeding in plant populations could also reduce resource quality for pollinators, potentially resulting in negative effects on pollinator populations. Public Library of Science 2014-07-18 /pmc/articles/PMC4103763/ /pubmed/25036035 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101463 Text en © 2014 Carr et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Carr, David E.
Roulston, T’ai H.
Hart, Haley
Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title_full Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title_fullStr Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title_full_unstemmed Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title_short Inbreeding in Mimulus guttatus Reduces Visitation by Bumble Bee Pollinators
title_sort inbreeding in mimulus guttatus reduces visitation by bumble bee pollinators
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103763/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25036035
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101463
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