Components of local adaptation and divergence in pollination efficacy in a coevolving species interaction

Selection leading to adaptation to interactions may generate rapid evolutionary feedbacks and drive diversification of species interactions. The challenge is to understand how the many traits of interacting species combine to shape local adaptation in ways directly or indirectly resulting in diversification. We used the well-studied interactions between Lithophragma plants (Saxifragaceae) and Greya moths (Prodoxidae) to evaluate how plants and moths together contributed to local divergence in pollination efficacy. Specifically, we studied L. bolanderi and its two specialized Greya moth pollinators in two contrasting environments in the Sierra Nevada in California. Both moths pollinate L. bolanderi during nectaring, one of them-G. politella-also while ovipositing through the floral corolla into the ovary. First, field surveys of floral visitors and the presence of G. politella eggs and larvae in developing capsules showed that one population was visited only by G. politella and few other pollinators, whereas the other was visited by both Greya species and other pollinators. Second, L. bolanderi in these two natural populations differed in several floral traits putatively important for pollination efficacy. Third, laboratory experiments with greenhouse-grown plants and field-collected moths showed that L. bolanderi was more efficiently pollinated by local compared to nonlocal nectaring moths of both species. Pollination efficacy of ovipositing G. politella was also higher for local moths for the L. bolanderi population, which relies more heavily on this species in nature. Finally, time-lapse photography in the laboratory showed that G. politella from different populations differed in oviposition behavior, suggesting the potential for local adaptation also among Greya populations. Collectively, our results are a rare example of components of local adaptation contributing to divergence in pollination efficacy in a coevolving interaction and, thus, provide insights into how geographic mosaics of coevolution may lead to coevolutionary diversification in species interactions.

Automated summary

Selection leading to adaptation to interactions can enhance the diversification of species interactions. This study focuses on the interactions between Lithophragma plants and Greya moths to understand how the combination of traits of interacting species contributes to local divergence in pollination efficacy. The results suggest that geographic mosaics of coevolution can lead to coevolutionary diversification in species interactions.