Linking Pollination and Herbivory: Selection from Herbivores on a Flower Color Polymorphism

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StraussDEB - 9807083Traits expressed by species within a community reflect an integration ofselection pressures from a variety of biotic and abiotic sources. Thisproject would integrate the different selective pressures imposed by bothherbivores and pollinators in evaluating the general features of planttraits. It will focus specifically on flower color, which hastraditionally been thought to respond primarily to pollinators. This workwill investigate a California wild radish that exhibits three color morphsand for which preliminary data indicate that antagonistic herbivores may beexerting selective pressures on flower colors in addition to pollinatorresponses. Pollination and herbivory rates will be documented in fieldstudies of the three-color morphs that occur in the study area. Thisinformation will be combined with field and greenhouse experiments thatwill examine herbivore preferences and plant performances relative tocolor. This work will illustrate how understanding the maintenance ofgenetic diversity at microevolutionary scales can be related to thegeneration of Biological diversity at macroevolutionary scales.