Effects of pollinators, herbivores, and seed predators on flowering phenology
Abstract
The evolution of flowering phenology has most often been examined in light of one set of organisms, namely pollinators. However, the patterns of flowering phenology observed in nature are likely to reflect evolutionary compromises in response to a variety of selective forces. Two of the most important potentially opposing selective forces that could elicit such a compromise are pollinators and pre-dispersal seed predators. Using a case study from my own work on the pollinators and pre-dispersal seed predators of two members of the Polemoniaceae, Polemonium foliosissimum and Ipomopsis aggregata, I show that the outcome of selective pressures is not always predictable by examining one group of organisms or another. In addition, the outcome of separate and combined selective pressures is variable among years. Thus I show that only by considering all organisms that affect the fitness of a plant may we gain a complete understanding of the evolution of floral traits. I argue that we must account for both geographical and temporal variation in assessing the ecological and evolutionary importance of interacting organisms.
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