Floral Scents of a Deceptive Plant Are Hyperdiverse and Under Population-Specific Phenotypic Selection

Gfrerer, Eva; Laina, Danae; Gibernau, Marc; Fuchs, Roman; Happ, Martin; Tolasch, Till; Trutschnig, Wolfgang; Hörger, Anja C.; Comes, Hans Peter; Dötterl, Stefan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.719092

Cited by 22 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…indole, p‐cresol and 2‐heptanone) were not correlated with species‐specific pollinator attraction. A recent study by Gfrerer et al (2021) also found that variation in the aforementioned foetid‐smelling VOCs were not among those which significantly influenced fruit sets in A. maculatum . Given that blends of indole, p‐cresol and 2‐heptanone are known to be attractive to Psychoda species (Kite et al 1998), these compounds appear to be generally attractive to all species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Arum maculatum inflorescences (Fig. 1) are pollinated deceptively, by emitting complex VOC blends which are known to vary within and among populations in England (Kite 1995, Kite et al 1998, Diaz and Kite 2002, France (Chartier et al 2011(Chartier et al , 2013 and across the Alps (Gfrerer et al 2021). The floral odour of A. maculatum is similar to dung or decomposing organic matter (Lack and Diaz 1991), mimicking the natural brood sites of their main pollinators, the moth flies Psychoda phalaenoides and Psycha grisescens (Diptera: Psychodidae).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pollinator communities maintains within‐species floral odour variation

Szenteczki

Godschalx

Galmán

et al. 2021

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Flowering plants emit complex bouquets of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to mediate interactions with their pollinators. These bouquets are undoubtedly influenced by pollinator-mediated selection, particularly in deceptively-pollinated species that rely on chemical mimicry. However, many uncertainties remain regarding how spatially and temporally heterogeneous pollinators affect the diversity and distribution of floral odour variation. Here, we characterized and compared the floral odours of ten populations of deceptively-pollinated Arum maculatum (Araceae), and interannual and decadal variation in pollinator attraction within these populations. Additionally, we transplanted individuals from all sampled populations to two common garden sites dominated by different pollinator species (Psychoda phalaenoides or Psycha grisescens), and compared pollinator attraction rates to investigate whether populations maintained odour blends adapted to a specific pollinator. We identified high within-and among-population variation in a common blend of VOCs found across the range of A. maculatum. We also observed shifts in pollinator community composition within several populations over 1-2 years, as well as over the past decade. Common garden experiments further revealed that transplanted inflorescences generally attracted the dominant local pollinator species in both transplant sites. However, one population (Forêt du Gâvre, France) appears to exclusively attract P. grisescens, even when transplanted to a P. phalaenoides-dominated site. Together, our results suggest that maintaining diverse floral odour bouquets within populations may be advantageous when pollinator communities vary over short timescales. We propose that temporally-replicated ecological data are one potential key to understanding variation in complex traits such as floral odour, and in some cases may reveal resiliency to shifting pollinator communities.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pollinator communities maintains within‐species floral odour variation

Szenteczki

Godschalx

Galmán

et al. 2021

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Floral visitor abundance was a significant predictor of the presence of an infructescence in both regions, i.e., north ( p = .004, df = 125; performance of the GLM, hereinafter referred to as GLM fit: χ 2 = 9.26, p = .002) and south ( p < .001, df = 131; GLM fit: χ 2 = 19.35, p < .001) of the Alps ( Supplementary Figure S2 ). Fruit set was highly variable ( Figure 4 ) and the mean fruit set among the populations ranged between 1 and 86.1% in both of the regions ( Supplementary Table S2 ; see also Gfrerer et al, 2021 ). When pooled across regions, the overall visitor abundance had a significant effect (slope = 11.06, p = .005) on fruit set (performance of the LM, hereinafter referred to as LM fit: adj.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, a putatively high attractiveness of northern A. maculatum to female P. phalaenoides inferred herein could explain why this specific interaction has been repeatedly observed in other northern locations of the plant’s distribution ( Lack and Diaz, 1991 ; Diaz and Kite, 2002 ; Espíndola et al, 2011 ; Chartier et al, 2013 ; Gibernau, 2016 ). The recently reported differences in scent bouquets between A. maculatum populations from north vs. south of the Alps ( Gfrerer et al, 2021 ) might play a key role in the differential attraction of the psychodid moth flies. To test this hypothesis, behavioral assays assessing whether these psychodid species respond differently to northern vs. southern scent bouquets are needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We use the term “visitors” to describe all insects trapped in a floral chamber, regardless of their importance to pollination (see Discussion). Sampled plants were individually marked with metal tags, and infructescences were collected in summer, just before fruit ripening, to determine fruit set (see also Gfrerer et al, 2021 ) and the number of seeds per fruit.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Local Insect Availability Partly Explains Geographical Differences in Floral Visitor Assemblages of Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geographical variation in abundance and composition of pollinator assemblages may result in variable selection pressures among plant populations and drive plant diversification. However, there is limited knowledge on whether differences in local visitor and pollinator assemblages are the result of site-specific strategies of plants to interact with their pollinators and/or merely reflect the pollinator availability at a given locality. To address this question, we compared locally available insect communities obtained by light-trapping with assemblages of floral visitors in populations of Arum maculatum (Araceae) from north vs. south of the Alps. We further investigated whether and how the abundance of different visitors affects plants’ female reproductive success and examined the pollen loads of abundant visitors. Local insect availability explained inter-regional differences in total visitor abundance, but only partly the composition of visitor assemblages. Northern populations predominantly attracted females of Psychoda phalaenoides (Psychodidae, Diptera), reflecting the high availability of this moth fly in this region. More generalized visitor assemblages, including other psychodid and non-psychodid groups, were observed in the south, where the availability of P. phalaenoides/Psychodidae was limited. Fruit set was higher in the north than in the south but correlated positively in both regions with the abundance of total visitors and psychodids; in the north, however, this relationship disappeared when visitor abundances were too high. High pollen loads were recorded on both psychodids and other Diptera. We demonstrate for the first time that the quantitative assessment of floral visitor assemblages in relation to locally available insect communities is helpful to understand patterns of geographical variation in plant–pollinator interactions. This combined approach revealed that geographical differences in floral visitors of A. maculatum are only partly shaped by the local insect availability. Potential other factors that may contribute to the geographical pattern of visitor assemblages include the region-specific attractiveness of this plant species to flower visitors and the population-specific behavior of pollinators.

show abstract

Among‐ and within‐population variation in morphology, rewards, and scent in a hawkmoth‐pollinated plant

Eisen

Raguso

2022

American J of Botany

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Premise: Floral scent is a complex trait that mediates many plant-insect interactions, but our understanding of how floral scent variation evolves, either independently or in concert with other traits, remains limited. Assessing variation in floral scent at multiple levels of biological organization and comparing patterns of variation in scent to variation in other floral traits can contribute to our understanding of how scent variation evolves in nature. Methods: We used a greenhouse common garden experiment to investigate variation in floral scent at three scales-within plants, among plants, and among populations-and to determine whether scent, alone or in combination with morphology and rewards, contributes to population differentiation in Oenothera cespitosa subsp. marginata. Its range spans most of the biomes in the western United States, such that variation in both the abiotic and biotic environment could contribute to trait variation. Results: Multiple analytical approaches demonstrated substantial variation among and within populations in compound-specific and total floral scent measures. Overall, populations were differentiated in morphology and reward traits and in scent. Across populations, coupled patterns of variation in linalool, leucine-derived compounds, and hypanthium length are consistent with a long-tongued moth pollination syndrome. Conclusions: The considerable variation in floral scent detected within populations suggests that, similar to other floral traits, variation in floral scent may have a heritable genetic component. Differences in patterns of population differentiation in floral scent and in morphology and rewards indicate that these traits may be shaped by different selective pressures.

show abstract

Floral Scents of a Deceptive Plant Are Hyperdiverse and Under Population-Specific Phenotypic Selection

Cited by 22 publications

References 70 publications

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pollinator communities maintains within‐species floral odour variation

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pollinator communities maintains within‐species floral odour variation

Local Insect Availability Partly Explains Geographical Differences in Floral Visitor Assemblages of Arum maculatum L. (Araceae)

Among‐ and within‐population variation in morphology, rewards, and scent in a hawkmoth‐pollinated plant

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About