Linking pollinator behavior to selfing rate and pollen discounting for three distinct pollinators of alfalfa

Despite the important role of insect pollinators in agriculture we know little about their impact on pollen dispersal and the amount of selfed seeds produced on a plant.  High selfing can reduce fitness and yield, especially when inbreeding depression is high.  Selfing can decrease the level of heterozygosity within populations and increase genetic differences among populations.  Selfing rate of plants is affected by how pollinators move on a plant. For example, pollinators that visit more flowers in succession on a plant will tend to increase the level of geitonogamous selfing (among flower selfing).  Differences among pollinators in foraging behavior and pollen deposition patterns can affect a plant's selfing rate.  In this study, we examine how distinct pollinators affect selfing rate in alfalfa and how such differences could be explained by differences in foraging behavior.