Evidence for pollen limitation of a native plant in invaded communities.

Animal-pollinated invasive species have frequently been demonstrated to outcompete native species for pollinator attention, which can have detrimental effects on the reproductive success and population dynamics of native species. Many animal-pollinated invasive species exhibit showy flowers and provide substantial rewards, allowing them to act as pollinator 'magnets', which, at a large scale, can attract more pollinators to an area, but, at a smaller scale, may reduce compatible pollen flow to local native species, possibly explaining why most studies detect competition. By performing pollen limitation experiments of populations in both invaded and uninvaded sites, we demonstrate that the invasive plant Lythrum salicaria appears to facilitate, rather than hinder, the reproductive success of native confamilial Decodon verticillatus, even at a small scale, in a wetland habitat in southeastern Ontario. We found no evidence for a magnet species effect on pollinator attraction to invaded sites. Germination experiments confirmed that seeds from invaded sites had similar germination rates to those from uninvaded sites, making it unlikely that a difference in inbreeding was masking competitive effects. We describe several explanations for our findings. Notably, there were no differences in seed set among populations at invaded and uninvaded sites. Our results underscore the inherent complexity of studying the ecological impacts of invasive species on natives.

Trait correlates and functional significance of heteranthery in flowering plants.

• Flowering plants display extraordinary diversity in the morphology of male sexual organs, yet the functional significance of this variation is not well understood. Here, we conducted a comparative analysis of floral correlates of heteranthery - the morphological and functional differentiation of anthers within flowers - among angiosperm families to identify traits associated with this condition. • We performed a phylogenetic analysis of correlated evolution between heteranthery and several floral traits commonly reported from heterantherous taxa. In addition, we quantified the effect of phylogenetic uncertainty in the observed patterns of correlated evolution by comparing trees in which polytomous branches were randomly resolved. • Heteranthery is reported from 12 angiosperm orders and is phylogenetically associated with the absence of floral nectaries, buzz-pollination and enantiostyly (mirror-image flowers). These associations are robust to particularities of the underlying phylogenetic hypothesis. • Heteranthery has probably evolved as a result of pollinator-mediated selection and appears to function to reduce the conflict of relying on pollen both as food to attract pollinators and as the agent of male gamete transfer. The relative scarcity of heteranthery among angiosperm families suggests that the conditions permitting its evolution are not easily met despite the abundance of pollen-collecting bees and nectarless flowers.