Heterospecific pollen deposition: does diversity alter the consequences?

摘要: • In natural communities, plants can receive pollen from multiple heterospecifics as well conspecifics. However, studies on the effects of interspecific transfer have focused interactions between species pairs. The potential exists for diverse among heterospecific (HP) grains stigma, and these to affect plant reproduction, alone or in combination with conspecific (CP) loss, but not yet been explored. We used hand-pollinations simulate increasing community diversity CP loss Mimulus guttatus stigmas. mixes one three donors determine how composition load size seed production characterize mechanisms underlying fertilization failure. Heterospecific deposition reduced M. while effect increased number donors, strength depended was independent size. Different types (additive synergistic) are hypothesized underlie reproductive success. Our results suggest that an increase will always lead a greater decrease fitness because multispecies depend interacting species.