RUI: Analysis of Competition for Pollination in East African Acacia

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Most flowering plants depend on pollinators for reproduction, yet understanding of plant-pollinator interactions in many plant communities is limited. In East African woody savannahs dominated by several species of acacia tree, each acacia species releases its pollen at specific, but different, times during the day and insect pollinators closely track the pollen release patterns of the trees. The goal of this study is to determine whether natural selection is acting to structure pollen release times in acacia communities in response to competition for pollinator services. The study will focus on one acacia species within the larger community and will combine genetic analyses and field experiments in Kenya to determine (i) the effect of different pollen release times and pollinators on seed production, (ii) the importance of self-fertilization to reproduction, and (iii) the distances over which pollinators carry acacia pollen. The results of this study will enhance understanding of how plants adapt to their biotic environment and how plant-pollinator interactions could contribute to the formation of new plant species. This study will bolster understanding of these interactions in a widespread and understudied ecosystem that has great ecological and economic importance in East Africa. The study will significantly enhance education of undergraduates in ecology, genetics, and evolution at the PI's home institution, and in particular, will broaden research opportunities for women and students of middle to low socioeconomic status, who make up a majority of the PI's students.