Mating systems of snowbed plant species of the northeastern Calcareous Alps of Austria

Abstract

Predicted climate warming will likely reduce the area and increase the fragmentation of alpine snowbed habitats. The ability of snowbed plants to cope with such fragmentation will, among other things, depend on their reproductive strategy. With respect to the mating system, as a key component of reproductive strategies, the environmental conditions in arctic and alpine snowbeds have been hypothesized to select for high selfing ability due to short growing seasons and unpredictable pollinator service. In this study we evaluate whether the mating system strategies of seven typical snowbed forbs of the northeastern Calcareous Alps in Austria are in line with this hypothesis. Field-pollination experiments were conducted in order to study the effects of pollinator exclusion (bagging; all study species), emasculation and manual self- and cross-pollination (subset of study species) on seed set. Additionally, data on floral traits associated with the reproductive system such as anther and ovule numbers and pollen:ovule ratios were collected. Results demonstrate that selfing is not uncommon but by no means obligatory for snowbed plants: the study species display a wide range of mating system types, from predominately outcrossing to predominately selfing. The different reproductive strategies of regional snowbed plants are discussed in relation to their ability to cope with climate warming induced habitat fragmentation.