FLOWER, FRUIT AND SEED ABORTION IN TROPICAL FOREST TREES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF PATERNAL AND MATERNAL REPRODUCTIVE PATTERNS

Abstract

Flower, fruit and immature seed abortion was studied in seven self‐incompatible species of trees in a tropical lowland semideciduous forest. The species showed considerable variability in fruit and seed set and the rate at which flowers and fruits were aborted. The amount of flower and fruit abortion also varied over time within species. Small samples of open‐pollinated flowers in three species showed adequate amounts of pollen on the stigma, but it could not be determined whether the pollen was compatible or incompatible. In a species with multiseeded fruits, the aborted fruits contained significantly fewer seeds than those retained on the plant. Position of fruit within the inflorescence and of seed within the ovary also had a marked effect on abortion: fruits and seeds at certain positions had a higher probability of abortion than those at other positions. Experiments to test the effect of pollen source on abortion were inconclusive. The factors underlying abortions were evaluated in the context of three mutually non‐exclusive hypotheses. It is concluded that selection for increased pollen dispersal and uncertainty in paternity of the zygotes are major factors underlying abortions.