Symposia

         Global Change and Plant Reproductive Failure: Beyond Climate Change Effects: An Annals of Botany Sponsored Symposium

Effects of global land use change on female and male reproduction in angiosperms

Presenting Author
Mauricio Quesada
Description
Most of the world’s land surface is currently under human use and natural habitats remain as fragmented areas of the original landscapes. Habitat loss and fragmentation result in a reduction of population sizes and increased isolation of remnant patches; therefore, it is considered a major threat to biodiversity and the viability of natural populations. The loss of reproductive individuals increases the probability of losing adaptive genotypes and increases the chance of mating with related individuals. An overwhelming number of studies have been conducted to assess the effects of habitat disturbance on the female function of plants. However, female and male components of reproduction are critical to understanding plant fitness and the maintenance of plant populations, both in hermaphroditic and dioecious species. Therefore, the evaluation of male and female components of plant fitness is critical to understand the ecological and evolutionary response of plant populations to fragmented habitats and thus, their ability to survive in changing environments. By means of hierarchical and phylogenetically independent meta-analyses, we reviewed habitat fragmentation effects on female and male function in plants across more than 500 studies representing approximately 300 plant species. We found a negative effect of habitat fragmentation on pollination and plant reproduction. Pollinator visitation rates and equivalent measures of pollination were negatively affected by habitat fragmentation. Flower production tended to increase, while fruit and seed-set were reduced by habitat fragmentation. Pollen removal from flowers and pollen production was comparable in plants from continuous habitats with respect to fragments. Mean gene flow distances via pollen were significantly higher in continuous habitats than in fragmented populations. Outcrossing rates and the effective number of sires decreased with habitat fragmentation. Conversely, selfing rates, inbreeding, and the mean relatedness of plant offspring increased in fragmented habitats when compared to continuous habitats. Plant progeny in fragmented habitats showed reduced germination, survival, and growth. This review suggests that both male and female functions are negatively affected by habitat fragmentation; however, it also highlights the need to conduct more studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation on the male function of plants. Our findings reveal that an unfavorable future for angiosperms remaining in fragmented habitats as fewer and lower-quality offspring may decrease the recruitment of plant populations, thereby increasing their probability of extinction.