Evolutionary history and climate co-determine the geographical variation in pollination modes of angiosperms in China

Aim: Pollination is an essential stage of angiosperm reproduction and the mode of pollination plays a major role in driving evolutionary and ecological responses of plants to environmental changes. However, the effects of climate, evolutionary history and floral traits (i.e. plant sexual systems) on pollination mode variation remain unclear. Here, we explored the biogeographic patterns in pollination mode frequency, and tested the hypothesis that insect pollination prevails in warm humid regions with old floras due to high pollinator dependence, whereas wind pollination is more frequent in arid regions with younger floras and is more strongly associated with dioecy.
Location: China
Time period: Since the Last Glacial Maximum
Major taxa studied: Angiosperms
Methods: Using data on pollination modes and geographic ranges of 29,719 angiosperm species in China, we mapped the biogeographic pattern of pollination mode frequency. Phylogenetic logistic regressions and generalized linear mixed mo..., ,