THE ROLE OF MALE FLOWERS IN ANDROMONOECIOUS SPECIES: ENERGETIC COSTS AND SIRING SUCCESS IN SOLANUM CAROLINENSE L.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00031.x

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Wiley InterScience

Evolution

Volume 61 Issue 2, Pages 404 - 412

Published Online: 6 Feb 2007

Published on behalf of the Society for the Study of Evolution

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THE ROLE OF MALE FLOWERS IN ANDROMONOECIOUS SPECIES: ENERGETIC COSTS AND SIRING SUCCESS IN SOLANUM CAROLINENSE L.

Mario Vallejo-Marín ^1,2,3 and Mark D. Rausher ^1,4

¹ Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 ² E-mail: mvallejo@botany.utoronto.ca ⁴ E-mail: mrausher@duke.edu

Correspondence to ³ Present address: Department of Botany, University of Toronto. 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3B2.

Associate Editor: J. Ågren

Correspondence to ³ Present address: Department of Botany, University of Toronto. 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3B2.

KEYWORDS

Andromonoecy • flower size • pollen donation • resource allocation • siring success • Solanum carolinense

ABSTRACT

Two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding the benefits of andromonoecy (producing perfect and female-sterile flowers on the same plant) are tested using Solanum carolinense. Results indicate that (1) staminate flowers are cheaper to produce than perfect flowers, even after correcting for their relative position in the inflorescence; (2) the resources saved by producing staminate flowers are not re-allocated to other fitness enhancing functions; and (3) the main morphological characteristic of staminate flowers, pistil reduction, does not increase either pollinator visitation or siring success of open-pollinated plants. These results indicate that neither the resource savings hypothesis nor the increased pollen donation hypothesis explains the evolution and maintenance of andromonoecy in S. carolinense.

Received July 5, 2006
Accepted October 19, 2006

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00031.x About DOI