BUMBLE BEE POLLINATION AND FLORAL MORPHOLOGY: FACTORS INFLUENCING POLLEN DISPERSAL IN THE ALPINE SKY PILOT, POLEMONIUM VISCOSUM (POLEMONIACEAE)

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Abstract
Pollen dispersal success in entomophilous plants is influenced by the amount of pollen produced per flower, the fraction of pollen that is exported to other flowers during a pollinator visit, visitation frequency, and the complementarity between pollen donor and recipients. For bumble bee‐pollinated Polemonium viscosum the first three determinants of male function are correlated with morphometric floral traits. Pollen production is positively related to corolla and style length, whereas pollen removal per visit by bumble bee pollinators is a positive function of corolla flare. Larger‐flowered plants receive more bumble bee visits than small‐flowered individuals. We found no evidence of tradeoffs between pollen export efficiency and per visit accumulation of outcross pollen; each was influenced by unique aspects of flower morphology. Individual queen bumble bees of the principal pollinator species, Bombus kirbyellus, were similar in male, female, and absolute measures of pollination effectiveness. An estimated 2.9% of the pollen that bumble bees removed from flowers during a foraging bout was, on average, deposited on stigmas of compatible recipients. Significant plant‐to‐plant differences in pollen production, pollen export per visit, and outcross pollen receipt were found for co‐occurring individuals of P. viscosum indicating that variation in these fitness related traits can be seen by pollinator‐mediated selection.
Funding Information
  • National Science Foundation (BSR‐8604726)