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Dryad

Patterns of pollen dispersal and pollen capture in the hybridizing cattails, Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia

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Nov 17, 2022 version files 28.98 KB

Abstract

Pollen dispersal regulates the formation of the invasive, wind-pollinated hybrid cattail T. × glauca, the F1 offspring of the broadleaf (T. latifolia) and narrowleaf (T. angustifolia cattail. An earlier study suggested that pollen dispersal by T. latifolia might be spatially restricted, with most dispersal occurring over distances less than 2 m. Restricted pollen dispersal would imply that hybrid formation primarily occurs within mixed stands of cattails. Hybrid formation might also be affected by preferential receipt of conspecific pollen, but this has not been investigated for cattails. We compared patterns of pollen dispersal for T. latifolia and T. angustifolia using a wind tunnel. We then tested whether patterns of pollen receipt were biased toward the capture of conspecific versus heterospecific pollen using monospecific cattail stands with a single local pollen source. Results from the wind tunnel partially supported the previous finding of spatially restricted pollen dispersal for T. latifolia, the paternal parent of F1 hybrids. Pollen receipt by T. angustifolia was biased toward the capture of conspecific pollen. Localized pollen dispersal by T. latifolia and preferential conspecific pollen capture by T. angustifolia should reduce rates of hybrid formation below that expected under random mating.