Distance-dependent pollen limitation of seed set in some insect-pollinated dioecious plants |
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Authors: | Tom J de Jong Judith C Batenburg Peter GL Klinkhamer |
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Institution: | Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, PO Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | By applying hand pollination, we studied pollen limitation of seed set of female plants in four dioecious plant species with insect-pollination. The effect of hand pollination increased with distance to the nearest male plant. Distances at which seed set was 50% of its maximal value (after hand pollination) were: 2.3 m for Valeriana dioica, 5.3 m for Salix repens, 8.5 m for Asparagus officinale and 10.6 m for Bryonia dioica. We discuss to what extent the reduced seed set was caused by either fewer visits or by visits of a lower quality. We argue that quantifying distance-dependent seed set in dioecious plants may be a good way of studying effects of habitat fragmentation on the breakdown of mutualistic pollination systems. |
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Keywords: | Dioecy Bumble bees Life histories Metapopulation Salix repens Valeriana dioica Asparagus officinalis Bryonia dioica |
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