The evolvability of herkogamy : Quantifying the evolutionary potential of a composite trait
(2017) In Evolution 71(6). p.1572-1586- Abstract
Accurate estimates of trait evolvabilities are central to predicting the short-term evolutionary potential of populations, and hence their ability to adapt to changing environments. We quantify and evaluate the evolvability of herkogamy, the spatial separation of male and female structures in flowers, a key floral trait associated with variation in mating systems. We compiled genetic-variance estimates for herkogamy and related floral traits, computed evolvabilities, and compared these among trait groups and among species differing in their mating systems. When measured in percentage of its own size, the median evolvability of herkogamy was an order of magnitude greater than the evolvability of other floral size measurements, and was... (More)
Accurate estimates of trait evolvabilities are central to predicting the short-term evolutionary potential of populations, and hence their ability to adapt to changing environments. We quantify and evaluate the evolvability of herkogamy, the spatial separation of male and female structures in flowers, a key floral trait associated with variation in mating systems. We compiled genetic-variance estimates for herkogamy and related floral traits, computed evolvabilities, and compared these among trait groups and among species differing in their mating systems. When measured in percentage of its own size, the median evolvability of herkogamy was an order of magnitude greater than the evolvability of other floral size measurements, and was generally not strongly constrained by genetic covariance between its components (pistil and stamen lengths). Median evolvabilities were similar across mating systems, with only a tendency toward reduction in highly selfing taxa. We conclude that herkogamy has the potential to evolve rapidly in response to changing environments. This suggests that the extensive variation in herkogamy commonly observed among closely related populations and species may result from rapid adaptive tracking of fitness optima determined by variation in pollinator communities or other selective factors.
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- author
- Opedal, Øystein H. LU ; Bolstad, Geir H. ; Hansen, Thomas F. ; Armbruster, W. Scott and Pélabon, Christophe
- publishing date
- 2017-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Conditional evolvability, dead-end hypothesis, evolution of selfing, floral evolution, genetic variance, heritability, plant mating systems, pollination accuracy
- in
- Evolution
- volume
- 71
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 15 pages
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:28440562
- scopus:85020259574
- ISSN
- 0014-3820
- DOI
- 10.1111/evo.13258
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.
- id
- 0ddbd7be-fc8b-4002-b2af-c8d07453e940
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-24 08:45:08
- date last changed
- 2025-04-17 10:12:23
@article{0ddbd7be-fc8b-4002-b2af-c8d07453e940,
abstract = {{<p>Accurate estimates of trait evolvabilities are central to predicting the short-term evolutionary potential of populations, and hence their ability to adapt to changing environments. We quantify and evaluate the evolvability of herkogamy, the spatial separation of male and female structures in flowers, a key floral trait associated with variation in mating systems. We compiled genetic-variance estimates for herkogamy and related floral traits, computed evolvabilities, and compared these among trait groups and among species differing in their mating systems. When measured in percentage of its own size, the median evolvability of herkogamy was an order of magnitude greater than the evolvability of other floral size measurements, and was generally not strongly constrained by genetic covariance between its components (pistil and stamen lengths). Median evolvabilities were similar across mating systems, with only a tendency toward reduction in highly selfing taxa. We conclude that herkogamy has the potential to evolve rapidly in response to changing environments. This suggests that the extensive variation in herkogamy commonly observed among closely related populations and species may result from rapid adaptive tracking of fitness optima determined by variation in pollinator communities or other selective factors.</p>}},
author = {{Opedal, Øystein H. and Bolstad, Geir H. and Hansen, Thomas F. and Armbruster, W. Scott and Pélabon, Christophe}},
issn = {{0014-3820}},
keywords = {{Conditional evolvability; dead-end hypothesis; evolution of selfing; floral evolution; genetic variance; heritability; plant mating systems; pollination accuracy}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{1572--1586}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Evolution}},
title = {{The evolvability of herkogamy : Quantifying the evolutionary potential of a composite trait}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.13258}},
doi = {{10.1111/evo.13258}},
volume = {{71}},
year = {{2017}},
}