Pollen limitation may be a common Allee effect in marine hydrophilous plants, implications for decline and recovery in seagrasses

Abstract

Pollen limitation may be an important factor in accelerated decline of sparse or fragmented populations. Little is known whether hydrophilous plants (pollen transport by water) suffer from an Allee effect due to pollen limitation or not. Hydrophilous pollination is a typical trait of marine angiosperms or seagrasses. Although seagrass flowers usually have high pollen production, floral densities are highly variable. We evaluated pollen limitation for intertidal populations of the seagrass Zostera noltei in The Netherlands and found a significant positive relation between flowering spathe density and fruit-set.