An investigation of the effects of pollinator varieties, genetic diversity and reproductive success in different pollination applications of Scrophularia fatmae Kandemir & Ilhan (Scrophulariaceae) and Scrophularia erzincanica R. R. Mill (Scrophulariaceae)

This study was carried out to determine the pollinator diversity, genetic diversity of populations and reproductive success in different pollination applications of Scrophularia erzincanica and Scrophularia fatmae. To achieve this goal, the pollinators and pollinator behavior of the species, the effects of different pollination practices on their reproductive success, analysis of their reproductive systems, the genetic diversity of the species and the variations between their populations were examined. According to the research results, it was determined that S. erzincanica and S. fatmae were suitable for both self-pollination and cross-pollination. The duration of phenological events was found to be longer in S. fatmae than in S. erzincanica. It has also been concluded that this is a strategy in which S. fatmae, which is an obligatory alpinic species, increases reproductive success in order to adapt to alpinic conditions. Pollen viability rate was found to be high in both species. It has been observed that the viability rates of seeds obtained from different pollination applications are generally higher in S. erzincanica. Halictus sp., Halictus quadricinctus and Lasioglossum pauxillum were determined as effective pollinators in S. erzincanica. Considering the Pollinator Visiting Index (PVI) in S. erzincanica, it was determined that the contribution of H. quadricinctus to genetic diversity was the highest. Additionally, it was found that the effective pollinator in S. fatmae was Bombus niveatus. In S. erzincanica, it was determined that the pollinator size was smaller, flower visits were more frequent, the duration of flower stay was longer and the number of flowers visited was lower. For S. fatmae, the pollinator probability is lower, the duration of flowering is shorter and the number of flowers visited is higher. It has been concluded that besides altitude and the abiotic conditions related to it, the corolla orientation of the species, the staminod position, the flower architecture and the plant scent are the basic characteristics that play a role in the pollinator diversity in both species and that the behavior of the pollinators is related to the flower architecture. Although the inter-population and intra-population genetic diversity rate is low for both S. erzincanica and S. fatmae, S. erzincanica was found to have a higher genetic diversity.