RUI: Floral Nectar Production: Implications for Pollen Flow and Plant Fitness

虽然传粉媒介对许多植物性状作出反应已成为不言自明的事实，但这些反应的性质尚未得到相当深入的研究。这项研究旨在调查一种这样的反应：大黄蜂采集花蜜。这项研究将确定自然选择是否能以这样一种方式作用于植物，即花蜜产量的细微变化可能会提高植物的适应性。19个独立但相互关联的假设将被检验。其目的是对生殖产出进行独立评估。此外，生殖产量将根据种子数量和质量来衡量。Polemonium folosissimum是一种落基山脉多年生草本植物，其生殖生物学在过去十年中得到了广泛的研究，将作为研究生物。拟议项目的完成将获得比目前任何其他分类单元更多的关于P. folosissimum花蜜生产的数据。

Although it has become axiomatic that pollinators respond to numerous plant traits, the nature of these responses have not been studied in appreciable depth. This research is designed to investigate one such response: the collection of nectar by bumblebees. The research will determine whether natural selection can operate on plants in such a way that subtle changes in rates of nectar production might yield increases in plant fitness. Nineteen descrete, yet interrelated, hypotheses will be tested. These are designed to allow an independent assessment of reproductive output. Additionally, reproductive output will be measured in terms of both seed number and quality. Polemonium foliosissimum, a Rocky Mountain perennial herb whose reproductive biology has been intensely studied for the past decade, will serve as the study organism. Completion of the proposed project will yield more data relating to floral nectar production in P. foliosissimum than is currently available for any other taxon.