Variación geográfica de la recompensa floral de <i>Calceolaria polyrhiza</i> (Calceolariaceae): Influencia de factores bióticos y abióticos

Geographic variation of floral reward in Calceolaria polyrhiza: influence of biotic and abiotic factors. The study of intraspecific differentiation of floral characters involved in plant-pollinator interaction, and of its relationship with biotic and abiotic factors is essential to elucidate the factors affecting biological adaptation and specialization. Systems involving oil-secreting plants and oil-collecting bees are considered one of the most specialized plant-pollinator mutualisms. In this study, using thin layer chromatography (TLC), we analyze composition of floral oils in 12 natural populations of Calceolaria polyrhiza, a species endemic to Patagonia. For each sampling site we obtained data on pollinators and on edaphic and climatic variables. Through a Partial Least Square analysis (PLS) we investigated which factors best explained variation among populations in floral reward. Results indicate that mainly pollinators, but also rainfall and availability of nutrients in the soil, explain the variation of floral reward composition at geographic scale