pollination in aquatic plants

[eub]

So many aquatics seem to prefer to reproduce asexually. Is waterborne pollination that much chancier than airborne? Or, hm, my impression is that even aquatics with aerial flowers have an asexual tilt, so maybe it's not about the pollination?

I should find this paper Evolution of Aquatic Angiosperm Reproductive Systems:

Why do most aquatic plants reproduce asexually? [...] Why and how did hydrophily (water pollination) evolve, and why are only 5% of aquatic plants hydrophilous? The authors discuss hydrophily at length.

Also, do any plants use aquatic creatures as pollinators? Why the heck not? It would please me.

Comments

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I think jinian has a lot of it. Plants (in this sense) evolved on land, and pollen takes advantage of characteristics of air that don't transfer well to water. It's analogous (I think) to the way that whales and seals can't go back to breathing water.

Sex is somewhat of a tenuous notion; last time I was reading in the literature, the maths still added up to an advantage for asexual reproduction. And certainly, most plants reproduce asexually quite well, and have no particular germline distinction like animals do.