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Dryad

Experimental tests of pollinator dependence in Avicennia germinans, the black mangrove

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Feb 14, 2022 version files 93.89 KB

Abstract

Avicennia germinans (L.) L. (Black Mangrove) is a common, sometimes dominant member of intertidal vegetation in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and West Africa. Its flowers are known to be attractive to animals – there are records of a variety of floral visitors – and it is widely believed to be zoophilous, but the degree to which it relies on pollinators for full fruit set is not entirely clear. Molecular methods have revealed that A. germinans is self-compatible; however, it has not been definitively shown whether this self-pollination occurs via spontaneous autogamy, via pollinator-mediated fertilization of flowers with either their own pollen or pollen from neighboring flowers on the same plant (geitonogamy), or via both mechanisms. This study's objective was to assess the ability of A. germinans to spontaneously self-pollinate, and to determine if A. germinans is capable of setting fruit in the absence of pollinators.