MITCHELL, RANDALL J1*, JEFFREY D KARRON2, KARSTEN HOLMQUIST2, and JOHN BELL2. 1University of Akron; 2University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. - The influence of Mimulus ringens floral display size on patterns of pollinator visitation.
The number of flowers open at one time on a plant can alter pollinator
behavior, which may in turn alter plant reproductive success and
mating system. To investigate this, we experimentally manipulated the
daily floral display of monkeyflower plants in four clonally
replicated arrays. Plants received one of an exponential series of
floral display treatments: 2, 4, 8 or 16 flowers. These treatments
were performed in a Latin Square Design, so that each genet
experienced all 4 floral display sizes on each day, and each ramet
experienced all display sizes over the four days. We then quantified
patterns of pollinator visitation and the opportunity for
self-pollination in these experimental populations. Bombus spp
constituted over 95% of all visitors, and these pollinators visited
three times more flowers on 16 flowered displays than on 2 flowered
displays. There were clear differences between and within pollinator
species in several aspects of behavior that could influence plant
mating patterns, including not only number of flowers probed, but
interplant movement distances and grooming behavior. Flowers in all
floral display treatments were equally likely to be probed, with a
mean per flower visitation rate near 0.6 probes/flower/hour. Because
flowers last only a single day and stigmas close by mid-day, there is
a notably short window of receptivity for pollination in this species,
which has important consequences for its mating biology. Overall,
plants with large displays should experience much more self-
pollination through geitonogamy as a result of these patterns of
pollinator behavior.
Key words: breeding system, floral display, geitonogamy, inflorescence size, Pollination, pollinator behavior