Data from: Strong pollinator-mediated selection for increased flower brightness and contrast in a deceptive orchid

Contrasting flower color patterns that putatively attract or direct
pollinators towards a reward are common among angiosperms. In the
deceptive orchid Anacamptis morio, the lower petal, which makes up most of
the floral display, has a light central patch with dark markings. Within
populations, there is pronounced variation in petal brightness, patch
size, amount of dark markings, and contrast between patch and petal
margin. We tested whether pollinators mediate selection on these color
traits and on morphology (plant height, number of flowers, corolla size,
spur length), and whether selection is consistent with facilitated or
negative frequency-dependent pollination. Pollinators mediated strong
selection for increased petal brightness (Δβpoll = 0.42) and contrast
(Δβpoll = 0.51). Pollinators also tended to mediate stabilizing selection
on brightness (Δγpoll = -0.27, n.s.) favoring the most common phenotype in
the population. Selection for reduced petal brightness among
hand-pollinated plants indicated a fitness cost associated with
brightness. The results demonstrate that flower color traits influence
pollination success and seed production in A. morio, indicating that they
affect attractiveness to pollinators, efficiency of pollen transfer, or
both. The documented selection is consistent with facilitated pollination
and selection for color convergence towards co-occurring rewarding
species.