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Orchid's Methods of Deception Essay example

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Deceit in orchids have proved advantageous in floral and species diversification. The article,”Orchid diversity; an evolutionary consequence of deception?” was written by Salvatore Cozzollino and Alex Widmer. In this article they discuss two types of deceptions in orchids: food deception and sexual deception. These methods of deception, which are used for pollination, have proved successful where there are pollinator limitations. However, where there are successes there are also consequences. Some factors that orchid deception effects are: mating systems, the evolution of reproductive isolation, and the evolution of speciation. To understand these consequences is to better understand how these deceptive orchids have become successful. …show more content…

This genetic flow can help maximize outcrossing rates and genetic diversity, which translates into larger population sizes in deceptive orchids. While reproductive isolation benefits from outcrossing, it more specifically benefits from orchids’ pollinator specificity. Around 60-70% of orchids have just a one pollinator species. This specificity is the main prezygotic reproductive isolation mechanism for the orchids. However, this high specificity in deceptive orchids can be unclear. It depends more on the pollinator specificity of the most deceptive orchids- the food deceptive orchids. Food deceptive orchids that are sympatric often share pollinators. This can lead to species’ barriers to be broken and hybridization, which subsequently, leads to low fertility and fitness in hybridized deceptive orchids. The low fitness of these orchids that share (no specific pollinator) or have a weak pollinator specificity indicates a late postzygotic reproductive isolation rather than a prezygotic.This is due to species sharing pollinator specificity causing a greater divergence in karyotypes than those who are pollinated by specific pollinators. In regards to speciation in deceptive orchids, pollinators have an undeniable connection¬. A specific example would be in the sexually deceptive Mediterranean Ophrys species. In these orchids, since there are slight differences in its active floral odor compounds, they are able to attract

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