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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Interactions Between Floral Mutualists And Antagonists, And Consequences For Plant Reproduction, Nicole Leland Soper Gorden
Interactions Between Floral Mutualists And Antagonists, And Consequences For Plant Reproduction, Nicole Leland Soper Gorden
Open Access Dissertations
While pollinators and leaf herbivores have been a focus of research for decades, floral antagonists have been studied significantly less. Since floral antagonists can be as common as leaf herbivores and have strong impacts on plant reproduction, it is important to understand the role of floral antagonists in the ecology and evolution of flowers. I conducted four experiments to better understand the relationship between plants, floral traits, floral antagonists, and other plant-insect interactions. First, I manipulated resources (light and soil nutrients) that are known to have impacts on plants and floral traits to test how they affect floral antagonists and …
Spatial Variation And Tradeoffs In Species Interactions, Holly L. Bernardo
Spatial Variation And Tradeoffs In Species Interactions, Holly L. Bernardo
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution predicts that spatial differences in species interactions result in a patchwork of evolutionary hot and cold spots across a landscape. We used horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.), a perennial weed with a diverse insect community found in old fields and meadows, to examine local adaptation and resource-mediated selection. The goals of this study were to (1) determine the potential for a selection mosaic by identifying local adaptation through trait-interaction matching with herbivores, pollinations and plant competitors, and (2) determine the potential for indirect selection through resource allocation tradeoffs. The potential for local adaptation was determined …