The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae)

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dc.contributor.advisorMidgley, Jeremy Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorSteenhuisen, Sandy-Lynnen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorJohnson, Steven Den_ZA
dc.contributor.authorZoeller, Kim Christieen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-07-01T09:04:38Z
dc.date.available2015-07-01T09:04:38Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractPollination systems of previously unstudied plant species are often inferred from floral traits that are shared among unrelated plant taxa. However, these ‘pollination syndromes’ are often not reliable predictors of the primary pollinator of a plant species, and may in fact represent adaptations to multiple pollinator groups or even minor pollinators. As such, conducting comprehensive field-based research into the pollination and breeding system of unstudied plant species is important for furthering our understanding of evolutionary processes underlying shifts in pollination systems within plant lineages. Protea cordata, P. decurrens, P. scabra and P. subulifolia are cryptic, geoflorous shrubs that are predicted to be pollinated by non-flying mammals based on their floral traits, although there has been no experimental evidence in support of this. The aims of this study were to quantify key functional traits that mediate interactions between these four Protea species and their pollinators, as well as to experimentally determine their pollination and breeding systems. We further aim to establish the main vertebrate pollinators of the study species, their relative rates of visitation and their temporal patterns of activity using remote camera footage. Rodents were found to be the most frequent visitors to the flower heads of the study species. Floral morphology, nectar volume and sugar concentration of the study species conform to the general syndrome of non-flying mammal pollination system in this genus. In particular, the short (14-20 mm) distance between pollen and nectar ensures pollen deposition on the body of rodent foragers. Excluding small mammals from flower heads did not significantly reduced seed set, suggesting that insects can play an important role in cross-pollination in the study species. Breeding system experiments revealed that Protea cordata and P. scabra are self- incompatible, and are reliant on animal vectors for successful seed set. Supplemental hand pollination on P. cordata and P. scabra indicated that resource limitation is prevalent among these plant species. This study adds to the growing knowledge of the reproductive biology of Protea and will improve our ability to reconstruct the history of pollinator shifts in the genus.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationZoeller, K. C. (2014). <i>The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae)</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13255en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationZoeller, Kim Christie. <i>"The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae)."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13255en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZoeller, K. 2014. The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae). University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Zoeller, Kim Christie AB - Pollination systems of previously unstudied plant species are often inferred from floral traits that are shared among unrelated plant taxa. However, these ‘pollination syndromes’ are often not reliable predictors of the primary pollinator of a plant species, and may in fact represent adaptations to multiple pollinator groups or even minor pollinators. As such, conducting comprehensive field-based research into the pollination and breeding system of unstudied plant species is important for furthering our understanding of evolutionary processes underlying shifts in pollination systems within plant lineages. Protea cordata, P. decurrens, P. scabra and P. subulifolia are cryptic, geoflorous shrubs that are predicted to be pollinated by non-flying mammals based on their floral traits, although there has been no experimental evidence in support of this. The aims of this study were to quantify key functional traits that mediate interactions between these four Protea species and their pollinators, as well as to experimentally determine their pollination and breeding systems. We further aim to establish the main vertebrate pollinators of the study species, their relative rates of visitation and their temporal patterns of activity using remote camera footage. Rodents were found to be the most frequent visitors to the flower heads of the study species. Floral morphology, nectar volume and sugar concentration of the study species conform to the general syndrome of non-flying mammal pollination system in this genus. In particular, the short (14-20 mm) distance between pollen and nectar ensures pollen deposition on the body of rodent foragers. Excluding small mammals from flower heads did not significantly reduced seed set, suggesting that insects can play an important role in cross-pollination in the study species. Breeding system experiments revealed that Protea cordata and P. scabra are self- incompatible, and are reliant on animal vectors for successful seed set. Supplemental hand pollination on P. cordata and P. scabra indicated that resource limitation is prevalent among these plant species. This study adds to the growing knowledge of the reproductive biology of Protea and will improve our ability to reconstruct the history of pollinator shifts in the genus. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae) TI - The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae) UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13255 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13255
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationZoeller KC. The reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae). [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13255en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBotanyen_ZA
dc.titleThe reproductive biology of four geoflorous Protea species (Proteaceae)en_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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