Interactions Between Floral Mutualists and Antagonists, And

Interactions Between Floral Mutualists and Antagonists, And

University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Open Access Dissertations 2-2013 Interactions between floral mutualists and antagonists, and consequences for plant reproduction Nicole Leland Soper Gorden University of Massachusetts Amherst, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Plant Biology Commons Recommended Citation Soper Gorden, Nicole Leland, "Interactions between floral mutualists and antagonists, and consequences for plant reproduction" (2013). Open Access Dissertations. 708. https://doi.org/10.7275/dkm7-5k19 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/708 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Interactions between floral mutualists and antagonists, and consequences for plant reproduction A Dissertation Presented by NICOLE L. SOPER GORDEN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY February 2013 Plant Biology © Copyright by Nicole L. Soper Gorden 2013 All Rights Reserved Interactions between floral mutualists and antagonists, and consequences for plant reproduction A Dissertation Presented By NICOLE L. SOPER GORDEN Approved as to style and content by: ________________________________________________ Lynn S. Adler, Chair ________________________________________________ Peter Alpert, Member ________________________________________________ Martha Hoopes, Member ________________________________________________ Anne Averill, Member ________________________________________________ Elsbeth Walker, Program Head Plant Biology DEDICATION In memory of my mother ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members and the members of the Adler lab who offered their time, ideas, and editing. Nancy Hanson and Hampshire Farm assisted with field space. Funding was provided by University of Massachusetts Natural History Collections Group Jane H. Bemis Endowment Scholarship, the University of Massachusetts Plant Biology Program, the University of Massachusetts Gilgut Fellowship in Plant Biology, and National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant DEB-1011236. Additionally, I have had numerous excellent undergraduate field and lab assistants, including Jonathan Alfredo López-Colón, Justin Van Goor, Lauren Bishop, Karly Henry, Winston Anthony, Matthew Boyer, Isaac Han, Dennis Dietz, Kaycee Farland, Tyler Davidson, Nadya Shlykova, Irina Showalter, Giavanni Garris, Kevin Moran, Maria Servidone, Alexa Pfeiffer, Chelsea Merritt, Anthony Tse, and Thomas Hernon. Finally, I would like to offer a special thanks to my family and friends who consistently supported and believed in me throughout my dissertation. v ABSTRACT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FLORAL MUTUALISTS AND ANTAGONISTS, AND CONSEQUENCES FOR PLANT REPRODUCTION FEBRUARY 2013 NICOLE L. SOPER GORDEN, B.A, GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Lynn S. Adler While pollinators and leaf herbivores have been a focus of research for decades, floral antagonists have been studied significantly less. Since floral antagonists can be as common as leaf herbivores and have strong impacts on plant reproduction, it is important to understand the role of floral antagonists in the ecology and evolution of flowers. I conducted four experiments to better understand the relationship between plants, floral traits, floral antagonists, and other plant-insect interactions. First, I manipulated resources (light and soil nutrients) that are known to have impacts on plants and floral traits to test how they affect floral antagonists and other plant-insect interactions. Plentiful resources increased the proportion of floral antagonists to visit flowers, but also increase tolerance of floral antagonists. Second, I manipulated flower bud gallers, a species-specific floral herbivore that destroys flowers, to test how it affected other plant- insect interactions, floral traits, and plant reproduction. Plants with flower bud gallers tended to have more pollinator visits, but this effect is due to a shared preference by gallers and pollinators for similar plants. Third, I manipulated florivory to examine how it affects subsequent plant-arthropod interactions, floral traits, and plant reproduction. Florivory had systemic effects on other plant-insect interactions, including leaf vi herbivores, and shifted the plant mating system towards more selfing. Additionally, I tested how several floral antagonists respond to floral attractive and defense traits to understand which floral traits are important in mediating antagonisms. Finally, I manipulated florivory, pollination, and nectar robbing to test for effects of multiple floral interactions on subsequent plant-insect interactions, floral traits, and plant reproduction. There were significant many-way interactions between the three treatments on subsequent plant-insect interactions and reproduction, indicating that the effect of one interaction depends on what other interactions are present. Understanding the role that floral antagonists play in plant ecology can help scientists determine which interactions are most important, and may help determine why some floral traits exist in their current state. Together, this work represents some of the most comprehensive research on the community consequences of floral antagonists, as well as the interplay between floral traits and floral interactions. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. ABIOTIC CONDITIONS AFFECT ANTAGONISTS AND MUTUALISTS IN IMPATIENS CAPENSIS ....................................................................................................11 Abstract ..................................................................................................................11 Introduction ............................................................................................................12 Methods..................................................................................................................15 Results ....................................................................................................................24 Discussion ..............................................................................................................26 Tables .....................................................................................................................35 Figures....................................................................................................................38 2. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FLOWER BUD GALLERS, POLLINATION, AND PLANT REPRODUCTION .....................................................................................42 Abstract ..................................................................................................................42 Introduction ............................................................................................................43 Methods..................................................................................................................47 Results ....................................................................................................................54 Discussion ..............................................................................................................57 Tables .....................................................................................................................64 Figures....................................................................................................................67 3. FLORIVORY ALTERS PLANT-INSECT INTERACTIONS AND DECREASES PLANT REPRODUCTION .......................................................................71 Abstract ..................................................................................................................71 Introduction ............................................................................................................72 Methods..................................................................................................................76 Results ....................................................................................................................84 Discussion ..............................................................................................................86 viii Tables .....................................................................................................................96 Figures....................................................................................................................98

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