INIBIOMA   20415
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN BIODIVERSIDAD Y MEDIOAMBIENTE
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
The population ecology of male gametophytes: the link between pollination and seed production
Autor/es:
HARDER, L.D., M.A. AIZEN, Y S.A. RICHARDS
Revista:
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016 vol. 19 p. 497 - 509
ISSN:
1461-023X
Resumen:
The fate of male gametophytes after pollen reaches stigmas links pollination to ovule fertilisation,governing subsequent siring success and seed production. Although male gametophyte performanceprimarily involves cellular processes, an ecological analogy may expose insights into thenature and implications of male gametophyte success. We elaborate this analogy theoretically andpresent empirical examples that illustrate associated insights. Specifically, we consider pollen loadson stigmas as localised populations subject to density-independent mortality and density-dependentprocesses as they traverse complex stylar environments. Different combinations of the timingof pollen-tube access to limiting stylar resources (simultaneous or sequential), the tube distributionamong resources (repulsed or random) and the timing of density-independent mortality relative tocompetition (before or after) create signature relations of mean pollen-tube success and its variationamong pistils to pollen receipt. Using novel nonlinear regression analyses (two-momentregression), we illustrate contrasting relations for two species, demonstrating that variety in theserelations is a feature of reproductive diversity among angiosperms, rather than merely a theoreticalcuriosity. Thus, the details of male gametophyte ecology should shape sporophyte reproductivesuccess and hence the dynamics and structure of angiosperm populations.