Month: September 2022

HIGHER MALE COSTS. "In some wind-pollinated plants, male reproductive costs may match or exceed those of females because of the high investment in nitrogen-rich pollen." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

DIOECIOUS WORK-AROUNDS. "Comparative studies of animal-pollinated dioecious species indicate that they commonly possess flowers that are less showy than outcrossing hermaphrodites, with small flowers that are often white, pale yellow, or green in colour. Nevertheless, the aggregation of these flowers can result in large floral displays that often show sexual dimorphism in floral and inflorescence traits." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

FORM OVER FUNCTION? "Sexual selection is most obvious in animals when it favours the evolution of extravagant male displays that enhance mating success at the expense of reduced viability." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

FLORAL MALE-MALE COMPETITION. "The larger floral displays of males in many animal-pollinated dioecious species are usually interpreted as resulting from male–male competition for mates, but few cases are known where this is associated with the reduced survival of male plants as a result of viability selection." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

MALE REPRODUCTIVE COST. "A striking example involves Leucadendron xanthocomus in which males can produce up to 20 times more flowers than females. Bond and Maze (1999) found that the number of insect visits to male plants increased linearly with floral display size, but that increasing display size was associated with a higher probability of plant death." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

MALE CAUSE OF DEATH. "Leucadendron xanthocomus. In contrast, the seed set and survival of females was not associated with display size. The ultimate cause of death in male plants appears to be the high maintenance cost of the abundant yellow non-photosynthetic display leaves that attract pollinators, but which cause considerable shading of photosynthetic leaves." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

SCENT DIMORPHISM. "There is a growing literature on the role of floral fragrance in pollinator attraction, raising the question of whether sexual dimorphism in floral scent occurs in dioecious species." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

SCENT SEXUAL SELECTION. "Based on a survey of 33 gender-dimorphic species, Ashman (2009) found that in the majority of species male plants emitted more volatiles per flower than females, a result consistent with sexual selection." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

KNOCK-ON CONSEQUENCES. "Sexual dimorphism can have ecological consequences, reinforcing, and perhaps also promoting, secondary sexual divergence." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn

SKEWED SEX RATIO. "The sex ratios of dioecious populations commonly deviate from the equilibrium expectation of the 1:1 primary sex ratio predicted by Fisherian theory." https://lnkd.in/ge7JD6J View in LinkedIn