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Group 2
To be short or to be tall?
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Introduction
The evolution of species traits is driven by different selective pressures which can be determined by species interactions. If different interactions can lead to distinct selective pressures, the overall combination of each interaction's relative contribution can select species traits. Primula farinosa is a perennial herb with two different types of floral morphs, a short morph and a tall morph. Antagonistic interactions such as herbivores consuming flowers favor a short floral morph, whereas pollinators are more attracted by a tall floral morph. Ågren and colleagues (2013) found that geographical variation in the distribution of floral morphs from P. farinosa is correlated with the variation in the strength of interaction with herbivores and pollinators.
P. farinosa floral morphs
Assignment
Propose a simple but realistic mathematical model that unravels the relative contribution of mutualistic vs. antagonistic interactions for the adaptive differentiation of floral morph in this system. Use this model to explore the ecological and/or evolutionary consequences of the proposed dynamics.
Proposed questions
- Floral dimorphism in Primula farinosa is geographically structured. Can a simple model, with no explicit spatial structure result in floral dimorphism?
- How the strength of each type of interaction (mutualistic and antagonistic) determines the frequencies of floral morphs?
References
- Ågren et al. (2013) Mutualists and antagonists drive among-population variation in selection and evolution of floral display in a perennial herb Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences vol.110 no.45 pp. 18202-18207 link
- Vanhoenacker et al. (2013) Non-linear relationship between intensity of plant–animal interactions and selection strength Ecology Letters vol. 16 pp. 198-205 link