2026/01/01 by Maria Gabriela Gutierrez Camargo, Montserrat Arista, Pedro Joaquim Bergamo +2 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Plant and animal studies #Plant Diversity and Evolution #Plant Gene Expression Analysis
paper · doi:10.1002/ajb2.70147
PREMISE: Flower color diversity within communities is shaped by biotic and abiotic factors. Pollinators often prefer specific colors, and floral pigments also help protect against abiotic factors such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, precipitation, and temperature. Along altitudinal gradients, variations in biotic and/or abiotic conditions can drive the spatial distribution of flower color diversity at the community level. METHODS: Across five vegetation types in the Brazilian campo rupestre, a highly diverse tropical mountain grassland with an environmental mosaic of vegetation types, we surveyed floral color traits of 179 plant species from 180 plots distributed along an altitudinal gradient (808-1427 m). We related flower color traits to pollination systems, abiotic factors (soil type, temperature, and precipitation), and elevation to investigate their influence on flower color diversity. RESULTS: An association between flower colors and pollination systems was coupled with a functional divergence of color traits along the environmental mosaic, indicating that both, biotic and abiotic factors, shape color diversity in the campo rupestre. Despite this functional divergence, flower color diversity levels were similar across vegetation types and decreased slightly with elevation. Such maintenance of functional diversity contrasts with the sharp reductions in color diversity observed with elevation in temperate mountains. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that flower color diversity is maintained across environmental gradients when pollination systems are unconstrained by elevation, a characteristic of old tropical mountain systems.