Abstract Detail

Sexual selection in flowering plants: traits, processes, and estimation

Karron, Jeffrey [1], Christopher, Dorothy [2], Mitchell, Randall [3], Trapnell, Dorset [4], Semski, Wendy [5], Smallwood, Patrick [4], Porcher, Emmanuelle [6], Devaux, Celine [7].

Greater variation in male than in female fitness in monkeyflower: evidence for Bateman’s principle.

Variation in male fitness is fundamental to models of reproductive trait evolution, yet is rarely quantified in flowering plants. Bateman (1948) hypothesized that male fitness variation will often exceed female fitness variation since it is usually limited by mating opportunities, rather than by resources. Although Bateman’s principle has largely been studied in dioecious animals, Bateman hypothesized that it could be extended to hermaphroditic flowering plants. A rigorous test of Bateman’s principle should not only compare male and female fitness variation, it should also explore whether variation in male and female fitness has an underlying genetic basis.
A powerful way to explore heritability of male and female fitness is to establish replicate arrays of plants where it is possible to assign a single father to each sampled seed. We used this approach to quantify the broad sense heritability of male and female fitness variation in monkeyflower, Mimulus ringens. We show male fitness variation is 3 times as high as female fitness variation. We also present the first evidence that male fitness variation exhibits significant broad sense heritability.

1 - University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department Of Biological Sciences, Po Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
2 - University Of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Dept Of Biological Sciences, 3209 N Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
3 - University Of Akron, Department Of Biology, Dept Of Biology, Akron, OH, 44325, United States
4 - University of Georgia, Plant Biology, 2502 Miller Plant Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602
5 - UW-Milwaukee, Dept Of Bio Sci, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
6 - Museum nacional d'histoire naturelle, Centre d'Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France, Paris, France
7 - Universite Montpellier, Centre d'Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), UMR 5554, 34095 Montpellier, Montpellier, France

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: CO08, Sexual Selection in Flowering Plants: Traits, Processes, and Estimation
Location: Tucson H/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 4:00 PM
Number: CO08010
Abstract ID:212
Candidate for Awards:None