scent of a male: The role of floral volatiles in pollination of a gender dimorphic plant

Most flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to transfer male gametes between individuals, and thus a significant problem for gender dimorphic plants is that pollinators often avoid female flowers. Here we show for the first time that one important reason pollinators shun female flowers is becau...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 2005-08, Vol.86 (8), p.2099-2105
Main Authors: Ashman, Tia-Lynn, Bradburn, Megan, Cole, Denise H., Blaney, Bernard H., Raguso, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2-phenylethanol
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
dioecy
floral volatiles
Flowers & plants
Fragaria virginiana
fragrance
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender
General aspects
gynodioecy
hermaphrodites
insect attractants
odors
Plant reproduction
pollen
pollen scent
pollination
sexual dimorphism
Smell
strawberries
volatile compounds
wild plants
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Summary:Most flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to transfer male gametes between individuals, and thus a significant problem for gender dimorphic plants is that pollinators often avoid female flowers. Here we show for the first time that one important reason pollinators shun female flowers is because they do not smell like males. We compared emission rates and floral scent composition in a gynodioecious wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) where females receive half as many visits by generalist pollinators as conspecific hermaphrodites. We used floral extracts to determine the source of sexually dimorphic odor and pollinator responses. Specifically, we used extracts of whole flowers and specific floral parts in choice tests to determine that pollinators preferred the scent of hermaphrodite flowers over those of females and that this discrimination was due primarily to the scent of hermaphrodite anthers. These data conclusively show that scent can be a major driver of pollinator behavior in gender dimorphic plants. Our results also indicate that scent is an important modulator of pollinator behavior even in a small flowered, weakly scented species visited by generalist pollinators, and not just peculiar to intensely scented, deceptive, or specialized pollination systems.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.1890/04-1161