With the extensive adoption of transgenic crops, an understanding of transgene flow is essential to manage gene flow to non-GM crops. Thus, a flexible and accurate numerical model is required to assess gene flow through pollen dispersal. A three-dimensional atmospheric model combined with a diffusion transport model would be a useful tool for predicting pollen dispersal since it would be flexib...

Patterns in ecology are the products of current factors interacting with history. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to disentangle contribution historical and factors, such as climate change pollinator identity behavior, on plant reproduction. Here, we separate relative importance processes geographical patterns mating system tree species Curatella americana (Dilleniaceae). Specifically,...

For many species of conservation significance, multiple factors limit reproduction. This research examines the contributions of plant height, number of flowers, number of stems, pollen limitation and seed predation to female reproductive success in the deceit-pollinated orchid, Cypripedium candidum. The deceptive pollination strategy employed by many orchids often results in high levels of poll...

Management of small plant populations requires an understanding of their reproductive ecology, particularly in terms of sensitivity to Allee effects. To address this issue, we explored how components of pollen transfer and pollination success of individual plants varied among 36 populations of the self-compatible moth-pollinated orchid Satyrium longicauda in South Africa. Mean fruit set, seed p...

The genus Cyrtopodium comprises about 42 species distributed from southern Florida to northern Argentina. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum occurs on rocks or in sandy soils, in restinga vegetation along the Brazilian coast. It flowers during the wet season and its inflorescences produce a high number of resupinate yellow flowers. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum offers no rewards to its pollinators, but mimics t...

Through their effects on physicochemical features of floral nectar, nectar-dwelling yeasts can alter pollinator behavior, but the effect of such changes on pollination success and plant reproduction is unknown. We present results of experiments testing the effects of nectar yeasts on foraging patterns of captive and free-ranging bumble bees, and also on pollination success and fecundity of the ...

It is well known that habitat fragmentation is likely to negatively affect the reproductive success of a species. Despite this fact, studies on the effects of fragmentation on reproductive success in combination with effects on natural pollination of wind-pollinated tree species are very rare. In this study, we analyzed the relationships between fragment size, components of pollination efficien...

Plant reproduction by means of flowers has long been thought to promote the success and diversification of angiosperms. It remains unclear, however, how this success has come about. Do flowers, and their capacity to have specialized functions, increase speciation rates or decrease extinction rates? Is floral specialization fundamental or incidental to the diversification? Some studies suggest t...

Recent concerns regarding within-crop transgene flow stimulated this research to update natural cross-pollination rates in conventional sowings of modern soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in the Mississippi Delta. Two experiments were conducted in 2001 and 2002 using two soybean cultivars, "Pace" (white-flowered) and "DP3588" (purple-flowered), selected for their equivalent flowering dates. The ...