naa a22 4500 528784943 20180924065518.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180924e20110201xx s 000 0 eng 10.3929/ethz-b-000031447 doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0016111 doi (ETHRESEARCH)oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/31447 Ecological Implications of a Flower Size/Number Trade-Off in Tropical Forest Trees [Elektronische Daten] [Chris J. Kettle, Colin R. Maycock, Jaboury Ghazoul, Pete M. Hollingsworth, Eyen Khoo, Rahayu Sukmaria Haji Sukri, David F.R.P. Burslem] PLoS ONE Open access ethresearch Background In angiosperms, flower size commonly scales negatively with number. The ecological consequences of this trade-off for tropical trees remain poorly resolved, despite their potential importance for tropical forest conservation. We investigated the flower size number trade-off and its implications for fecundity in a sample of tree species from the Dipterocarpaceae on Borneo. Methodology/Principal Findings We combined experimental exclusion of pollinators in 11 species, with direct and indirect estimates of contemporary pollen dispersal in two study species and published estimates of pollen dispersal in a further three species to explore the relationship between flower size, pollinator size and mean pollen dispersal distance. Maximum flower production was two orders of magnitude greater in small-flowered than large-flowered species of Dipterocarpaceae. In contrast, fruit production was unrelated to flower size and did not differ significantly among species. Small-flowered species had both smaller-sized pollinators and lower mean pollination success than large-flowered species. Average pollen dispersal distances were lower and frequency of mating between related individuals was higher in a smaller-flowered species than a larger-flowered confamilial. Our synthesis of pollen dispersal estimates across five species of dipterocarp suggests that pollen dispersal scales positively with flower size. Conclusions and Their Significance Trade-offs embedded in the relationship between flower size and pollination success contribute to a reduction in the variance of fecundity among species. It is therefore plausible that these processes could delay competitive exclusion and contribute to maintenance of species coexistence in this ecologically and economically important family of tropical trees. These results have practical implications for tree species conservation and restoration. Seed collection from small-flowered species may be especially vulnerable to cryptic genetic erosion. Our findings also highlight the potential for differential vulnerability of tropical tree species to the deleterious consequences of forest fragmentation. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 ethresearch Kettle Chris J. joint author Maycock Colin R. joint author Ghazoul Jaboury joint author Hollingsworth Pete M. joint author Khoo Eyen joint author Sukri Rahayu Sukmaria Haji joint author Burslem David F.R.P. joint author PLoS ONE Lawrence, KS, USA : Public Library of Science 6 (2), p. e16111 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/31447 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) 1 Journal Article ethresearch ETHRESEARCH 856 40 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/31447 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Kettle Chris J. joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Maycock Colin R. joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Ghazoul Jaboury joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Hollingsworth Pete M. joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Khoo Eyen joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Sukri Rahayu Sukmaria Haji joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Burslem David F.R.P. joint author ETHRESEARCH 773 0- PLoS ONE Lawrence, KS, USA : Public Library of Science 6 (2), p. e16111 1932-6203 BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH Journal Article Open access