In the alpine landscape, characterized by high spatiotemporal heterogeneity and barriers, divergent selection is likely to lead to local adaptation of plant populations either through adaptive genetic differentiation or through phenotypic plasticity. The relative importance of these processes has ra

Invasive plants are hypothesized to have higher fitness in introduced areas due to their release from pathogens and herbivores and the relocation of resources to reproduction. However, few studies have tested this hypothesis in native and introduced regions. A biogeographical approach is fundamental

Seed size and toughness affect seed predators, and size-dependent investment in mechanical defence could affect relationships between seed size and predation. We tested how seed toughness and mechanical defence traits (tissue density and protective tissue content) are related to seed size among trop

Individual differences in fecundity often serve as proxies for differences in overall fitness, especially when it is difficult to track the fate of an individual's offspring to reproductive maturity. Using fecundity may be biased, however, if density-dependent interactions between siblings affect su

Genetically-based trait variation across environmental gradients can reflect adaptation to local environments. However, natural populations that appear well-adapted often exhibit directional, not stabilizing, selection on ecologically-relevant traits. Temporal variation in the direction of selection

In mutualistic interactions, the decision whether to cooperate or cheat depends on the relative costs and benefits of each strategy. In pollination mutualisms, secondary nectar robbing is a facultative behavior employed by a diverse array of nectar-feeding organisms, and is thought to be a form of c

We quantified pollinator visit behavior, pollen receipt and export, and changes in allele and genotype frequencies from initial Hardy‐ Weinberg conditions in experimental arrays of two color morphs of snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) visited by freely foraging bumble bees (Bombus appositus and B. fla

Natural hybrid zones between related species illustrate processes that contribute to genetic differentiation and species formation. A common viewpoint is that hybrids are essentially unfit, but they exist in a stable tension zone where selection against them is balanced by gene flow between the pare

▪ Abstract Knowledge of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms is essential to the study of molecular evolution. Their common ancestry mandates that their molecular functions share many aspects of adaptation and constraint, yet their differences in size, ploidy, and structural complexity also giv

The “Modern Synthesis” brought paleontology and systematics together with population genetics to endorse Darwin’s insights and to lay the foundation of steady progress in understanding.

Nectar robbers are birds, insects, or other flower visitors that remove nectar from flowers through a hole pierced or bitten in the corolla. This paper is a review of the effects of nectar robbers on pollinators, pollination, and fitness of the plants they rob. Charles Darwin assumed that nectar rob

Broad‐tailed and rufous hummingbirds avoid plants and flowers that have recently been visited by nectar‐robbing bees. However, the cues the hummingbirds use to make such choices are not known. To determine the proximate cues hummingbirds use to avoid visiting nectar‐robbed plants, I conducted multip

The effects that below‐freezing temperature (frost) can have at times of year when it is unusual are an interesting ecological phenomenon that has received little attention. The physiological consequence of formation of ice crystals in plant tissue is often death of the plants, or at least of sensit

Experimental studies provide tests of sex-allocation theory by measuring male and female fitness gains, and examining the trade-off assumption, to show how fitness responds to shifts in allocation.