Associations among the modes of pollination and seed dispersal: ecological factors and phylogenetic constraints

We argue that specific modes of pollination and seed dispersal tend to be associated (co-occur) in plants and that the pollination and seed dispersal modes adopted by the plant shapes reproductive features including clutch size and unit of dispersal. We tested these predictions using the data on the flora of the British Isles. We found that more often than expected wind pollinated species tend to have either passive (including explosive) or animal-dispersed seeds. Wind dispersed species also tend to have a smaller clutch size with the fruit as a unit of dispersal, while passively dispersed species also tend to have large clutch sizes with seeds as unit dispersal. We discuss the role of phylogenetic constraints and ecological factors in shaping these associations.