Variation in sex allocation and male–female trade‐offs in six populations of Collinsia parviflora (Scrophulariaceae s.l.)

Abstract

Assumed trade-offs between male and female functions in hermaphroditic flowers have been difficult to demonstrate. Collinsia parviflora (Scrophulariaceae) is a winter annual that exhibits significant among-population variation in corolla size in British Columbia, Canada. We asked whether reduction in secondary male allocation (i.e., the attractive corolla), a preliminary indicator of mating system, was matched by a reduction in primary male allocation (i.e., pollen production), and whether there were allocation trade-offs between male and female function both within and among six study populations. Larger-flowered populations allocated more to male function (androecium and corolla biomass), and because populations did not vary in female biomass allocation (gynoecium and calyx), population differences were not due to simple allometric scaling. Populations also differed in per-flower gamete production (pollen and ovules). We found male-female trade-offs within populations between androecium and gynoecium mass and between corolla and calyx mass. Among populations, there was a marginal trade-off between pollen and ovule production and a significant within-male trade-off between pollen grain size and number. Trade-offs between the sexes were primarily apparent when we controlled for flower size in the analysis. Variation among populations in sex allocation may reflect different optima related to the mating system.