My research lies within the field of evolutionary biology and focuses on the evolution of reproductive systems in plants. My PhD thesis aims to document and compare the intensity of sexual dimorphism in ten dioecious plant species belonging to the genus Silene, in order to better understand the proximate and ultimate mechanisms that promote, or conversely constrain, the emergence of trait differences between male and female individuals.
This comparative approach is based on the analysis of vegetative traits (number of leaves, dry biomass) and reproductive traits (number and size of flowers, olfactory emissions, sugar content in nectar).
The thesis is structured around two central questions:
1- the impact of the age of dioecy on the intensity of sexual dimorphism
2- the impact of pollination mode (entomophilous vs anemophilous) on the expression of sexual dimorphism