Floral display and habitat fragmentation: Effects on the reproductive success of the threatened mass‐flowering Conospermum undulatum (Proteaceae)

Fragmentation of natural vegetation is currently one of the largest threats to plant populations and their interactions with pollinators. Plant reproductive susceptibility to habitat fragmentation has been investigated in many species; however, the response of wild mass‐flowering species is poorly k...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology and evolution 2019-10, Vol.9 (19), p.11494-11503
Main Authors: Delnevo, Nicola, Etten, Eddie J., Byrne, Margaret, Stock, William D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bees
Biodiversity
Biodiversity hot spots
biodiversity hotspot
Breeding success
Conospermum undulatum
conservation
Crop production
floral display
Flowering
Flowers & plants
Fragmentation
Fruits
Germination
Habitat fragmentation
Habitats
isolation
mating system
Morphology
Natural vegetation
Original Research
Physical characteristics
Plant populations
Plant reproduction
Pollen
Pollination
Pollinators
Population number
population size
Population studies
Populations
Reduction
Reproduction
Reproductive cycle
Seed germination
seed set
Seeds
Species
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Fragmentation of natural vegetation is currently one of the largest threats to plant populations and their interactions with pollinators. Plant reproductive susceptibility to habitat fragmentation has been investigated in many species; however, the response of wild mass‐flowering species is poorly known, with research limited to mainly boreal plant species. Here, we studied twelve remnant populations of the threatened mass‐flowering shrub Conospermum undulatum in the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot, each presenting different population size, level of isolation, and floral display. We assessed the impact of fragmentation on (a) fruit and seed production; and (b) seed germination. To gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the reproductive success of C. undulatum, we performed pollinator exclusion and self‐pollination treatments to experimentally assess the mating system of this threatened shrub. We found C. undulatum to be strictly self‐incompatible and totally reliant on pollinators visiting with an outcrossed pollen load to complete the reproductive cycle. Further, we found that fruit production dropped from 35% to
ISSN:2045-7758
2045-7758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.5653