Format: ORAL

Amy L. Parachnowitsch

Biology Department. University of New Brunswick. Fredericton. New Brunswick. Canada

The importance of nectar in plant-pollinator interactions and the diversity of animal pollinated flowers has long been appreciated. However, nectar traits have generally been neglected in estimates of natural selection in populations. While researchers appreciate that nectar may be a target of selectin in populations, it can be a challenging trait to quantify in the numbers necessary for phenotypic selection studies. Here I will outline some of the challenges and opportunities for studying selection on nectar. I will also outline lessons we’ve been learning as my lab attempts to fill this important gap in our understanding of the evolution of floral traits. I’ll show that nectar can be but isn’t always a target of selection. Abiotic conditions can also change selection patterns on nectar. Quantifying selection on nectar traits may be particularly important to understand the impacts of our changing climate on floral evolution. Nectar can be a plastic trait influenced by current conditions, many which are changing, such as temperatures and water availability. Therefore understanding the relationship between phenotypic plasticity and natural selection will be particularly important for furthering our understanding of the evolution of nectar.