Ovule bet‐hedging at high elevation in the South American Andes: evidence from a phylogenetically‐controlled multispecies study

1. How animal‐pollinated plants support low and stochastic pollination in the high alpine is a key question in plant ecology. The ovule bet‐hedging hypothesis proposes compensation for stochastic pollination via ovule oversupply ín flowers allowing the benefits of windfall pollination events to be reaped. Under this hypothesis, ovule number is expected to increase from treeline upward on high mountains characterized by steep declines in flower visitation rates and increasingly more variable pollination.

2. Ovule/floret number was investigated for a total of 174 simple‐flowered and pseudanthial species in the central Chilean Andes (2100‐3650 m.a.s.l.). Phylogenetic reconstruction was undertaken using ITS sequences and a constrained ordinal‐level backbone reflecting the APG‐IV topology. Ovule/floret number was modelled with OLS and PGLS with elevation, floral biomass, life‐history, pollinator efficiency, pollination generalization, and seasonal flowering period as explanatory variables...