Summary
A game theoretic model was developed for nectar secretion in animal-pollinated plants in order to examine how the total amount of resources allocated to flowers affects the spread of nectarless plants. It was assumed that pollinators concentrate on patches whose nectar rewards are relatively large compared to other patches and if pollinators visit a patch, they concentrate on the plants whose nectar rewards are relatively large compared to other plants in the patch. It was shown that plants are more likely to secrete nectar in populations where the total amount of resources allocated to flowers is large. It was also shown that strong interplant competition, strong interpatch competition and the nectar discrimination of the pollinators are also important factors for nectar secretion. However, if the total amount of resources allocated to flowers is sufficiently large, plants would secrete nectar even if competition is not very strong and nectar discrimination is not so precise.
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Sakai, S. A model for nectar secretion in animal-pollinated plants. Evol Ecol 7, 394–400 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237870
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237870