Pollinator-mediated selection and the evolution of flowering traits

Dr. Judith Trunschke from the University of Freiburg gives a biology lecture

Title: Pollinator-mediated selection and the evolution of flowering traits

Abstract: Flowering plants and the interaction with their insect pollinators provide some powerful examples of adaptation by means of natural selection. This pollinator-driven evolution is omnipresent given the astonishing array of intra- and interspecific diversity in flowering functional traits including phenology, flower shapes, colors and scents. However, selection on flowering phenotypes is also influenced by other selective agents than pollinators including other biotic partners and the abiotic environment leading to spatio-temporal variation in pollinator-mediated and non-pollinator-mediated selection. In this talk, I present past, current and future avenues of my research that promote our understanding of the context-dependence of plant-pollinator interactions, how pollinators select on floral form and function, drive population divergence and adaptation to past and future environments, and ultimately play a role in the functional assemblage of flowering communities.