title: Floral traits and pollination ecology of European Arum hybrids.
abstract: Hybridisation is common in plants and can affect the genetic diversity and ecology of sympatric parental populations. Hybrids may resemble the parental species in their ecology, leading to competition and/or gene introgression; alternatively, they may diverge from the parental phenotypes, possibly leading to the colonisation of new ecological niches and to speciation. Here, we describe inflorescence morphology, ploidy levels, pollinator attractive scents, and pollinator guilds of natural hybrids of Arum italicum and A. maculatum (Araceae) from a site with sympatric parental populations in southern France to determine how these traits affect the hybrid pollination ecology. Hybrids were characterised by inflorescences with a size and a number of flowers more similar to A. italicum than to A. maculatum. In most cases, hybrid stamens were purple, as in A. maculatum, and spadix appendices yellow, as in A. italicum. Hybrid floral scent was closer to that of A. italicum, but shared some compounds with A. maculatum and comprised unique compounds. Also, the pollinator guild of the hybrids was similar to that of A. italicum. Nevertheless, the hybrids attracted a high proportion of individuals of the main pollinator of A. maculatum. We discuss the effects of hybridisation in sympatric parental zones in which hybrids exhibit low levels of reproductive success, the establishment of reproductive barriers between parental species, the role of the composition of floral attractive scents in the differential attraction of pollinators and in the competition between hybrids and their parental species, and the potential of hybridisation to give rise to new independent lineages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria. chartier.marion@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chartier
authors.affiliation: Lille University, Cité 9 Scientifique, 59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liagre
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weiss-Schneeweiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Anatomy and Cytology, University of Silesia, 40-032, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Bozena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolano
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional and Evolutive Ecology, Montpellier 2 University, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier 5, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bessière
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schönenberger
authors.affiliation: CNRS - Université de Corse, SPE UMR 6134, Natural Resources Project - Vignola, Route des sanguinaires, 20000, Ajaccio, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibernau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D031058:Arum / Q000235:genetics*; D004463:Ecology; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005602:France; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D056626:Inflorescence; D007313:Insecta; D009812:Odorants; D010641:Phenotype; D010675:Pheromones; D011003:Ploidies; D054817:Pollination; D012098:Reproduction; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones
keywords: Floral odour; Morphospace; Psychodidae; Sapromyiophily; Wallace effect