Notes on fine-scale spatial distribution of three Cephalanthera species (Orchidaceae) that grow in sympatry in Korea: Implications for maintenance of species boundaries

The three self-compatible, terrestrial orchids Cephalanthera erecta, C. falcata, and C. longibracteata flower synchronously in sympatric populations. Cephalanthera erecta and C. longibracteata, which have white flowers that do not fully open, are predominantly autogamous, whereas the food-deceptive...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Chung, Mi Yoon, López-Pujol, Jordi, Chung, Myong Gi
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/188592
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/188592
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Autogamy
Cephalanthera
Outcrossing
Reproductive isolation
Spatial distribution patterns
Descripción
Sumario:The three self-compatible, terrestrial orchids Cephalanthera erecta, C. falcata, and C. longibracteata flower synchronously in sympatric populations. Cephalanthera erecta and C. longibracteata, which have white flowers that do not fully open, are predominantly autogamous, whereas the food-deceptive C. falcata, whose bright yellow flowers open completely, is predominantly outcrossing. The formation of hybrids rarely occurs between species owing to strong pre-pollination barriers (floral isolation). If these three species have evolved toward the prevention of interspecific hybridization, we can expect that the spatial distribution patterns of the three species would be characterized as spatial segregation (i.e., ‘spatial repulsion’) from each other. To test this prediction, we studied the three Cephalanthera species in sympatric populations showing coincident flowering within Yeonwhasan Provincial Park (YPP, Gyeongsangnam Province, South Korea). We found strong spatial aggregation in each population and spatial independence in the interspecific spatial distribution, differing from previous studies. We further hypothesize that Cephalanthera species in sympatry within YPP are distributed somewhat randomly in space, perhaps due to the sharing of similar mycorrhizal fungi.