Abstract
-Competition among pollen-tubes for ovules can lead to increased sporophytic vigor. This phenomenon has been well studied in a few cultivated species, but little is known about whether it occurs in natural populations. I tested for effects of pollen-tube competition on progeny performance in Epilobium septentrionale and E. canum ssp. canum. Three maternal plants of each species received small vs. excessive pollen-loads, using mixtures of pollen from three paternal plants. Progeny from these treatments were grown in competition with wild oats and harvested after nine weeks in the greenhouse. Intense pollen competition led to significantly larger progeny in only one of the six maternal families. In another maternal family, offspring from excessive pollen-loads were actually smaller than those from small pollen-loads. Pollination treatment had inconsistent effects on seed size, which did not appear to influence plant size. This study does not support the hypothesis that pollen competition fosters selection for faster-growing progeny.
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