目的:了解限制繁殖成功的因素是植物生物学的关键组成部分。食肉植物依靠昆虫作为营养来源和传粉媒介,为研究资源和花粉限制对植物繁殖的影响提供了独特的系统。
方法:我们使用野生生长的DionaeamuscipulaJ.Ellis(Droseraceae)进行了田间试验,其中我们以因子设计操纵了猎物和花粉,并测量了花朵的产量,水果数量,种子的数量。因为理解繁殖需要了解植物物种的生殖和授粉生物学,我们还检查了授粉系统,每次访问传粉媒介的有效性,和D.muscipula的花粉-胚珠(P/O)比。
结果:接受补充猎物的植物比对照植物产生更多的花。他们还具有更高的总体适应度估计(花的数量×水果集(总水果/总花)×每个水果的种子),尽管只有在先前的生长季节进行猎物补充时,这种益处才是显着的。花粉补充或花粉与猎物补充之间的相互作用都不会显着影响植物的整体适应性。
结论:这项研究加强了D.muscipula对花的足够猎物捕获的依赖,水果,种子生产和繁殖的移动花粉载体,表明将昆虫视为该物种有效保护管理计划的一部分的重要性。
Understanding the factors that limit reproductive success is a key component of plant biology. Carnivorous plants rely on insects as both nutrient sources and pollinators, providing a unique system for studying the effects of both resource and pollen limitation on plant reproduction.
We conducted a field experiment using wild-growing Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis (Droseraceae) in which we manipulated prey and pollen in a factorial design and measured flower production, number of fruits, and number of seeds. Because understanding reproduction requires knowledge of a plant species\' reproductive and pollination biology, we also examined the pollination system, per-visit pollinator effectiveness, and pollen-ovule (P/O) ratio of D. muscipula.
Plants that received supplemental prey produced more flowers than control plants. They also had a higher overall fitness estimate (number of flowers × fruit set (total fruits/total flowers) × seeds per fruit), although this benefit was significant only when prey supplementation occurred in the previous growing season. Neither pollen supplementation nor the interaction between pollen and prey supplementation significantly affected overall plant fitness.
This study reinforces the reliance of D. muscipula on adequate prey capture for flower, fruit, and seed production and a mobile pollen vector for reproduction, indicating the importance of considering insects as part of an effective conservation management plan for this species.