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Correlations Among Traits Associated With Herbivore Resistance And Pollination: Implications For Pollination And Nectar Robbing In A Distylous Plant, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn Adler

Lynn Adler

Plants interact simultaneously with a diversity of visitors, including herbivores and pollinators. Correlations among traits associated with herbivory and pollination may constrain the degree to which plants can evolve in response to any one interactor. Using the distylous plant, Gelsemium sempervirens, we tested the hypothesis that traits typically associated with pollination (distyly) and herbivore resistance (secondary compounds) were phenotypically correlated and examined how these traits influenced plant interactions with floral visitors. The flowers of G. sempervirens are visited by pollinators and a nectar robber, and the leaves and flowers express gelsemine, an alkaloid that is deterrent and sometimes toxic to …