Abstract
Coevolution of quantitative characters is modeled for populations of plants and specialized pollinators. Reciprocal selective forces on characters in mutualistic species create lines of equilibria for their mean phenotypes. Diversification between geographically isolated pairs of mutualistic populations can thus occur by random genetic drift. In each species the rate of differentiation between populations depends in part on the effective size of local populations of its mutualistic partner. Sexual selection in a pollinator species, through mating preferences in one sex based on the pollination behavior of the opposite sex, can produce rapid coevolution and speciation in both the pollinator and the plant populations. Patterns of mutualistic coevolution are discussed with particular reference to population structure, ecological interactions, and species diversity in orchids and orchid bees, figs and fig wasps, and yuccas and yucca moths.
Published Version
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