Data from: Local adaptation: mechanical fit between floral ecotypes of Nerine humilis (Amaryllidaceae) and pollinator communities
Data files
Jul 14, 2015 version files 380.62 KB
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Floral traits_nested ANOVA.xlsx
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Multidimensional scaling.xlsx
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Reciprocal translocation.xlsx
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Single visitation_Pollen deposition.xlsx
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Single visitation_Seedset.xlsx
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Single visitations_contact.xlsx
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Supplementary material (controls).xlsx
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Univariate Regression.xlsx
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Visitor Preferences.xlsx
Abstract
Geographic variation in floral morphology is often assumed to reflect geographic variation in pollinator communities and associated divergence in selective pressures. We studied populations of Nerine humilis (Amaryllidaceae) to assess whether geographic variation in floral form is the result of local adaptation to different pollinator communities. We first tested for associations between floral traits and visitor communities, and found that populations with similar floral morphologies were visited by similar insect communities. Mean style length in each population was also closely associated with the mean body length of the local visitor community. A reciprocal translocation experiment demonstrated that native phenotypes set more seed than translocated phenotypes. Single visitation experiments showed that native flowers received more pollen, and set more seed per visit, than introduced phenotypes in both populations. This suggests that the effectiveness of pollinator visits is determined by the degree of mechanical fit between flowers and visitors. We provide strong evidence that the observed among-population variation in floral traits is an adaptive response to geographic variation in the pollinator community.