Positive effect of the yellow morph on female reproductive success in the flower colour polymorphic Iris lutescens (Iridaceae), a deceptive species

Imbert, E.; Wang, H.; Conchou, L.; Vincent, Hugo Christian; Talavera, M.; Schatz, B. (2014). Positive effect of the yellow morph on female reproductive success in the flower colour polymorphic Iris lutescens (Iridaceae), a deceptive species. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 27(9), pp. 1965-1974. Wiley 10.1111/jeb.12451

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The deceptive Iris lutescens (Iridaceae) shows a heritable and striking flower colour polymorphism, with both yellow- and purple-flowered individuals growing sympatrically. Deceptive species with flower colour polymorphism are mainly described in the family Orchidaceae and rarely found in other families. To explain the maintenance of flower colour polymorphism in I.lutescens, we investigated female reproductive success in natural populations of southern France, at both population and local scales (within populations). Female reproductive success was positively correlated with yellow morph frequency, at both the population scale and the local scale. Therefore, we failed to observe negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), a mechanism commonly invoked to explain flower colour polymorphism in deceptive plant species. Flower size and local flower density could also affect female reproductive success in natural populations. Pollinator behaviour could explain the positive effect of the yellow morph, and our results suggest that flower colour polymorphism might not persist in I.lutescens, but alternative explanations not linked to pollinator behaviour are discussed. In particular, NFDS, although an appealingly simple explanation previously demonstrated in orchids, may not always contribute to maintaining flower colour polymorphism, even in deceptive species.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Plant Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

Vincent, Hugo Christian

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

1010-061X

Publisher:

Wiley

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

27 Oct 2014 17:07

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:37

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/jeb.12451

Uncontrolled Keywords:

flower colour polymorphism, food deception, plant-insect interactions, pollination strategy, pollinator-mediated selection

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.59602

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/59602

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