Relationships between the floral neighborhood and individual pollen limitation in two self-incompatible herbs

Abstract

Local flower density can affect pollen limitation and plant reproductive success through changes in pollinator visitation and availability of compatible pollen. Many studies have investigated the relationship between conspecific density and pollen limitation among populations, but less is known about within-population relationships and the effect of heterospecific flower density. In addition, few studies have explicitly assessed how the spatial scales at which flowers are monitored affect relationships. We investigated the effect of floral neighborhood on pollen limitation at four spatial scales in the self-incompatible herbs Armeria maritima spp. maritima and Ranunculus acris spp. acris. Moreover, we measured pollen deposition in Armeria and pollinator visits to Ranunculus. There was substantial variation in pollen limitation among Armeria individuals, and 25% of this variation was explained by the density of compatible and heterospecific flowers within a 3 m circle. Deposition of compatible pollen was affected by the density of compatible and incompatible inflorescences within a 0.5 m circle, and deposition of heterospecific pollen was affected by the density of heterospecific flowers within a 2 m circle. In Ranunculus, the number of pollinator visits was affected by both conspecific and heterospecific flower densities. This did not, however, result in effects of the floral neighborhood on pollen limitation, probably due to an absence of pollen limitation at the population level. Our study shows that considerable variation in pollen limitation may occur among individuals of a population, and that this variation is partly explained by floral neighborhood density. Such individual-based measures provide an important link between pollen limitation theory, which predicts ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences for individual plants, and studies of the effects of landscape fragmentation on plant species persistence. Our study also highlights the importance of considering multiple spatial scales to understand the spatial extent of pollination processes within a population.