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Valadão-Mendes LB, Rocha I, Meireles DAL, Leite FB, Sazima M, Maruyama PK, Brito VLG. Flower morphology and plant-bee pollinator interactions are related to stamen dimorphism in Melastomataceae. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2022; 24:240-248. [PMID: 34741381 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 20,000 species of flowering plant offer mainly pollen to their pollinators, generally bees. Stamen dimorphism, a floral trait commonly present in some pollen flowers, is thought to be associated with exclusive pollen provision for highly effective bee pollinators. Notwithstanding, little is known about how stamen dimorphism is related to other floral morphological traits and, consequently, plant-pollinator interactions at the community scale. Here we investigated the relationship between stamen dimorphism and other floral morphological traits, as well as the interactions with pollinators in plants of Melastomataceae. We characterized each plant species as stamen dimorphic or stamen isomorphic according to differences in size and shape between stamen sets. Data on interactions between the plants and their bee pollinators were analysed as quantitative bipartite networks. We found that petal and style size and shape were correlated to stamen dimorphism. Stamen dimorphic species present larger flowers and less variable style shapes than stamen isomorphic species. Furthermore, stamen dimorphism is associated with higher richness of visiting bees, i.e. higher ecological generalization. During the evolutionary history of Melastomataceae, the dependence on pollinators for fruit set has possibly favoured the evolution of larger flowers with dimorphic stamens, which in turn are able to make use of a larger spectrum of pollen-collecting bees, leading to ecological generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- L B Valadão-Mendes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo de Vida Silvestre, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil
- Centro de Síntese Ecológica e Conservação, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil
| | - I Rocha
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brasil
| | - D A L Meireles
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação dos Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brasil
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biologicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brasil
| | - F B Leite
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil
| | - M Sazima
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil
| | - P K Maruyama
- Centro de Síntese Ecológica e Conservação, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil
| | - V L G Brito
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brasil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil
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