The role of the 3D heterostyly and the floral visitors on mating system of Turnera ulmifolia var. elegans (Tuneroideae: Passifloraceae)

• Grant number: 15/26134-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2016
• End date: June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany
• Principal Investigator: Odair José Garcia de Almeida
• Grantee: Marina Teixeira Achkar
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Heterostyly is a kind of specialization characterized by presence of two or even more morphs of bisexual flowers in the same population. The knowledge about the heterostyly came from studies performed in few taxa, and there still are many questions to answer concerning the functional ecology of this polymorphism. A curious case of heterostyly is the tridimensional (3D) one, which occurs by means of the projection of the stigmas among the central portion of the filament of the stamens, occupying the functional position of the second whorl from the centre to the periphery of the flower. Turnera ulmifolia has heterostyly showing a high level of phenotipic specialization. The 3D organization of the sexual organs occurs in brevistylous flowers of T. ulmifolia var. elegans. In this scope, this study aims to analyze the unlikeness of the efficiency among the floral visitors, aiming to evaluate the occurrence of cryptic specialization and the efficiency of the morphological arrangement of the sexual organs in 3D. Considering the several different ways in which the interactions are able to define the spot inside the continuum between specialization and generalization that one species of plant may occupy, this study will seek for contribute to the understanding of the evolutionary pictures related to the evolution of the pollination' systems Thus, the purposes of this work are twofold: 1) to compare the functionality of the pollinators of T. ulmifolia var. elegans; 2) to analyze the efficiency of the morphological arrangement of the sexual organs in 3D, through an experiment of annulment of three-dimensionality.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RECH, ANDRE RODRIGO; ACHKAR, MARINA TEIXEIRA; JORGE, LEONARDO RE; ARMBRUSTER, W. SCOTT; ALMEIDA, ODAIR J. G.. The functional roles of 3D heterostyly and floral visitors in the reproductive biology of Turnera subulata (Turneroideae: Passifloraceae). FLORA, v. 264, MAR 2020. (18/19634-3, 15/26134-9)