How do gender separation and the transition to wind pollination happen in temperate trees? What does the reproductive ecology in the crowns of temperate forest trees look like? These connected questions intrigued researchers before and since Darwin but it is only in the last years that a direct study of the latter question has been enabled. A research crane was used to study the flowering ecology of Fraxinus excelsior, Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus and Tilia cordata in Leipzig’s floodplain forest. These species originate from hermaphrodite insect pollinated plant families and exhibit different grades of gender separation and different stages between insect and wind pollination. As they are typical elements of temperate deciduous forests, an ecological comparison of their flowering ecology may shed new light on the evolution of gender separation and wind pollination in this habitat. Using the crane, gender distribution, flowering phenology in relation to microclimate, pollination levels (including pollen tubes in the styles) and fruit set were studied in ca. 200 trees over 2-4 years. Main results are a new appreciation of the sexual system of Fraxinus excelsior as dioecy, of Tilia cordata as andromonoecy and a detailed description of the intricacies of the heterodichogamous sexual system of Acer pseudoplatanus. Several flowering phenological patterns are described in Fraxinus excelsior and Acer platanoides in relation to microclimate in early spring. The role of small arthropods is underlined as gall mites may play a role in gender specialisation in Fraxinus excelsior, gall midges are related to maleness in T. cordata and thrips are probably the pollinators of Acer pseudoplatanus in the stand. Thrips pollination is suggested to be a possible stepping-stone between insect pollination and wind pollination, which may drive the transition in Acer pseudoplatanus and possibly in intensively flowering dominant species in other habitats. The study presents the complexity of the reproductive systems and the strong interdependencies among their elements.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa.de:bsz:15-20080603-064807-8 |
| Date | 03 June 2008 |
| Creators | Tal, Ophir |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig, Fakultät für Biowissenschaften, Pharmazie und Psychologie |
| Publisher | Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:doctoralThesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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