Cumulative individual seed production in the polycarpic Caesalpinia gilliesii (Fabaceae): effects of temporal variability in floral display, plant density and pollination.

CALVIÑO, A.; ASHWORTH, L.; GALETTO, L.

The International Journal of Plant Reproductive Biology

The Society of Plant Reproductive Biologists

Lugar: Agra; Año: 2016 vol. 8 p. 115 - 127

0975-4296

In polycarpic species, floral display size and density of conspecific neighbours are time variable as well astheir effects on pollination and fecundity. Here, we address how individual pollinator-dependent seedproduction responds to changes in floral display size and the density of flowering conspecific neighbours.Using path analysis, we disentangle the partial effects of floral display size, the density of floweringneighbours and pollination intensity on the total seed output of the partially self-compatible shrubCaesalpinia gilliesii during three consecutive reproductive seasons. We also modelled the effects oftemporal variability in floral offer and pollination intensity (as the coefficient of variation) on cumulativeseed production over the study period. Floral display size had either positive or negative effects onpollination intensity in different reproductive seasons, but conspecific density had no significant effectwithin each season. However, cumulative seed production increased under lower temporal variability inconspecific density. Our results suggest that, because of the dynamic nature of floral offer in a polycarpicspecies, the temporal changes in floral display size and density may counteract each other reducing the riskof successive pollination failures and increasing seed production over time.