Kin discrimination allows plants to modify investment towards pollinator attraction

Rubén Torices (), José M. Gómez and John R. Pannell
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Rubén Torices: University of Lausanne
José M. Gómez: La Cañada de San Urbano
John R. Pannell: University of Lausanne

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Pollinators tend to be preferentially attracted to large floral displays that may comprise more than one plant in a patch. Attracting pollinators thus not only benefits individuals investing in advertising, but also other plants in a patch through a ‘magnet’ effect. Accordingly, there could be an indirect fitness advantage to greater investment in costly floral displays by plants in kin-structured groups than when in groups of unrelated individuals. Here, we seek evidence for this strategy by manipulating relatedness in groups of the plant Moricandia moricandioides, an insect-pollinated herb that typically grows in patches. As predicted, individuals growing with kin, particularly at high density, produced larger floral displays than those growing with non-kin. Investment in attracting pollinators was thus moulded by the presence and relatedness of neighbours, exemplifying the importance of kin recognition in the evolution of plant reproductive strategies.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04378-3

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