Floral Scent in a Generalized Pollination System : Ecological Dynamics and Evolutionary Implications
(2024)- Abstract
- The extraordinary diversity of flowering plants has long captivated biologists and
evolutionary ecologists. Plant-insect relationships are recognized as a major driver
of this diversity, with pollinators playing a crucial role in angiosperm speciation and
trait diversification. Numerous observational and experimental studies have shown
that pollinators influence the evolution of floral traits—such as size, shape, color,
and scent—through their preferences and selective pressures. While much of our
understanding of plant phenotypic diversification stems from specialized systems,
most plants participate in more generalized interactions. This bias has created a
significant gap in our knowledge of how phenotypes... (More) - The extraordinary diversity of flowering plants has long captivated biologists and
evolutionary ecologists. Plant-insect relationships are recognized as a major driver
of this diversity, with pollinators playing a crucial role in angiosperm speciation and
trait diversification. Numerous observational and experimental studies have shown
that pollinators influence the evolution of floral traits—such as size, shape, color,
and scent—through their preferences and selective pressures. While much of our
understanding of plant phenotypic diversification stems from specialized systems,
most plants participate in more generalized interactions. This bias has created a
significant gap in our knowledge of how phenotypes diversify in relation to
pollinator communities in more generalized species. In this thesis, I investigate the
drivers of intraspecific variation in floral scent and morphology within Arabis
alpina, a pollination-generalist species. Through a series of experiments, I examine
the interplay between floral traits, pollinator communities, and environmental
factors to understand how mainly floral scent, but also plant-pollinator traitmatching,
evolves across the species range. In Chapter I, I found that while floral
scent shares biosynthetic links with other phytochemical traits, it may evolve
independently under pollinator-mediated selection. Chapter II demonstrated that
floral scent emission is consistent across various conditions, despite significant
differences in scent composition and pollinator community between neighboring
populations. Chapter III revealed that almost all insect visitors contribute
effectively to pollination, and have variable levels of morphological trait-matching,
suggesting they could influence floral trait evolution. In Chapter IV, I showed that
pollinators consistently preferred local over foreign flowers, indicating a possible
mechanism for the observed geographic variation in scent composition.
Collectively, these findings suggest that floral scent variation in A. alpina is shaped
by pollinator-mediated selection, potentially as a locally adapted trait. This work
contributes to the growing understanding of how floral scent as well as other floral
traits evolve in pollination-generalist species, emphasizing its significance in
generalized plant-insect interactions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1bc6a910-992e-4cca-9ad2-62002941f767
- author
- Thosteman, Hanna LU
- supervisor
-
- Magne Friberg LU
- Anna Runemark LU
- opponent
-
- Senior Lecturer Castellanos, Maria Clara, University of Sussex
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-11-19
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Arabis alpina, Floral scent, Floral scent diversity, Generalist phenotypes, Intraspecific variation, Phenotypic evolution, Phenotypic integration, Plant-pollinator trait-matching, Pollinator community, spatial and temporal variations
- pages
- 79 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- Blå Hallen, Ekologihuset, Lund.
- defense date
- 2024-12-13 09:00:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-183-5
- 978-91-8104-184-2
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1bc6a910-992e-4cca-9ad2-62002941f767
- date added to LUP
- 2024-10-25 11:29:47
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:27:25
@phdthesis{1bc6a910-992e-4cca-9ad2-62002941f767,
abstract = {{The extraordinary diversity of flowering plants has long captivated biologists and<br/>evolutionary ecologists. Plant-insect relationships are recognized as a major driver<br/>of this diversity, with pollinators playing a crucial role in angiosperm speciation and<br/>trait diversification. Numerous observational and experimental studies have shown<br/>that pollinators influence the evolution of floral traits—such as size, shape, color,<br/>and scent—through their preferences and selective pressures. While much of our<br/>understanding of plant phenotypic diversification stems from specialized systems,<br/>most plants participate in more generalized interactions. This bias has created a<br/>significant gap in our knowledge of how phenotypes diversify in relation to<br/>pollinator communities in more generalized species. In this thesis, I investigate the<br/>drivers of intraspecific variation in floral scent and morphology within Arabis<br/>alpina, a pollination-generalist species. Through a series of experiments, I examine<br/>the interplay between floral traits, pollinator communities, and environmental<br/>factors to understand how mainly floral scent, but also plant-pollinator traitmatching,<br/>evolves across the species range. In Chapter I, I found that while floral<br/>scent shares biosynthetic links with other phytochemical traits, it may evolve<br/>independently under pollinator-mediated selection. Chapter II demonstrated that<br/>floral scent emission is consistent across various conditions, despite significant<br/>differences in scent composition and pollinator community between neighboring<br/>populations. Chapter III revealed that almost all insect visitors contribute<br/>effectively to pollination, and have variable levels of morphological trait-matching,<br/>suggesting they could influence floral trait evolution. In Chapter IV, I showed that<br/>pollinators consistently preferred local over foreign flowers, indicating a possible<br/>mechanism for the observed geographic variation in scent composition.<br/>Collectively, these findings suggest that floral scent variation in A. alpina is shaped<br/>by pollinator-mediated selection, potentially as a locally adapted trait. This work<br/>contributes to the growing understanding of how floral scent as well as other floral<br/>traits evolve in pollination-generalist species, emphasizing its significance in<br/>generalized plant-insect interactions.}},
author = {{Thosteman, Hanna}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-183-5}},
keywords = {{Arabis alpina; Floral scent; Floral scent diversity; Generalist phenotypes; Intraspecific variation; Phenotypic evolution; Phenotypic integration; Plant-pollinator trait-matching; Pollinator community; spatial and temporal variations}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Floral Scent in a Generalized Pollination System : Ecological Dynamics and Evolutionary Implications}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/198280887/Hanna_Eriksdotter_Thosteman_-_WEBB.pdf}},
year = {{2024}},
}