DOCSLIB.ORG

To Make a Meadow It Takes a Clover and a Bee: the Entomophilous Flora Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 63 (4) 193-220 (1993) SPB Academie Publishing bv, The Hague To make a meadow it takes a clover and a bee: the entomophilous flora of N.W. Europe and its insects .** Willem N. Ellisi* & Albertine C. Ellis-Adam *Institute of Taxonomie Zoology (Zoological Museum), University of Amsterdam, Entomology Department, Plantage Middenlaan 64, 1018 DH Amsterdam, The Netherlands; **Hugo de Vries Laboratory, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Keywords: flower-visiting insects; insect conservation; anthophilous fauna; cornucopian species; flower types; integrated pest management Abstract Résumé An of the fauna of N.W. is Est de la faune du analysis anthophilous Europe pre- présentée une analyse anthophile d’Europe sented, stressing the role plants play for insects. The study is nord-ouest, soulignant le rôle joué par les plantes pour les in- 29.000 based onsome 29,000 relations between about 2,600 insect spe- sectes. L’étude est basée sur environ relations entre envi- cies and The data derived 1,300 plant species (569 genera). are ron 2.600 espèces d’insectes et 1.300 espèces de plantes appar- from database of biotic relations our (“CrypTra”) between tenant à 569 genres. Les données sont dérivées du database éla- Cryptobiota and Tracheophyta, that is based on published boré les des relations par auteurs (“CrypTra”) biotiques entre sources. Cryptobiontes et Tracheophytes, database s’appuyant sur des It is suggested that a ratio of 2 to 5 insect species anthophilous sources publiés. per entomophilous plant species is the rule in N.W. Europe, On suggère quele rapport 2 à 5 insectes anthophilespar espèce where other types of zoophily are virtually absent. végétale entomophile est de règle en Europe du nord-ouest (où A small minority of the plant species/generaplay a dispropor- d’autres types de zoophilie sont pratiquement absents). tionallyimportantrole as hosts to flower visitors; many ofthese Une faible minorité d’espèceset genres deplantes joueun rôle so-called cornucopian taxa belong to the commonest ento- démesurément important en tant que hôtes des visiteurs des mophilousplants in the region, and occur also in moderatelydis- fleurs; beaucoup de ces “taxons cornucopiens” sont parmi les turbed habitats. plantes entomophilesles plus communes de la région,présentes There is a significant positive correlation between the com- aussi dans des habitats modérément modifiés. monness of a plant species and the fraction this plant represents Il y a une corrélation positive significative entre l’ubiquité of the trophic resources exploited by an insect species. There is, d’une espèce végétale et la fraction représentée par cette plante on the otherhand, a significant negative correlation between the dans l’ensemble des ressources trophiquesexploitées par une es- number of insect species visiting a given plant species, and the pèce d’insectes. Il y a, d’autre part, une corrélation négative sig- number of plant species visited by a given insect species. These nificative entre nombre d’espèces d’insectes fréquentant unecer- two elements together demonstrate that the anthophilous fauna taine espèce végétale,et nombre d’espèces de plantesfréquentées and the entomophilous flora of N.W. Europe as a whole form par une certaine espèce d’insectes. L’ensemble de ces deux élé- a loose system, not predominantly characterised by speciali- ments démontre que la faune anthophileet la flore entomophile sation. du nord-ouest forment lâche d’Europe un système qui n’est pas In accordance with this, factor analysis suggests that there is caractérisé en premier lieu par la spécialisation. no ground to recognise more than three visitor types, viz., the En concordance avec ceci, l’analyse factorielle suggère qu’il allotropous, hemitropous, and eutropous visitors as defined by - n’y a pas lieu de reconnaître plus de trois types de visiteurs, à Loew. A minorityofthe plant taxa essentially the cornucopian savoir les visiteurs et - tels - allotropes, hemitropes eutropes ones can with some difficulty be associated with these three qu’ilsont été définis par Loew. Une minorité de taxons végétaux types of visitors, and a very few narrowly specialised plant taxa (essentiellementespèces cornucopiennes) être associeé, avec can be associated with more specific visitor groups. However, peut une certaine à ces trois de visiteurs, tandis que the large majority of plants cannot be fitted in any typology. difficulté, types très de taxons étroitement spécialisés These results have practical implications for the nature peu végétaux peuvent être associés à des de visiteurs. management of the anthophilous fauna, in that the important groupes plus spécifiques Cependant, role of the cornucopian floral element is underlined. The fact il est impossible de ranger la grande majorité des plantes dans certaine that the majority of the cornucopian species are perennial, or une typologie. evenwoody, places constraints to agriculturalpractices intended Ces résultats ont des implications pratiques pour la gestion to foster beneficial anthophilous insects. naturelle de la faune anthophile,le rôle important des éléments Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 09:50:54PM via free access - 194 W.N. Ellis & A.C. Ellis-Adam To make a meadow it takes a clover and a bee Le floristiques cornucopiens dans ce domaine étant souligné. formulated qualitatively. The studies of Müller fait majorité cornucopiennes vivaces ou que la des espèces sont (1873-1881), De Vries (1875), Heinsius (1892), même ligneuses, certaines contraintes aux procédés agri- pose Knuth (1892-1905), Willis& Burkill (1895-1908), coles ayant pour but la protection des insectes anthophiles utiles. to mention the most important ones, brought to- information awaited gether a wealth of factual that analysis for another century. Motto One more researcher is worthy of mention, viz. Julius Mac Leod. Of his studies on the anthecology Die Schirmblumen of the Kempen region in Belgium, the first part Leod diese ist appeared precisely one century Mac .... Denn Saftdrüse zugleich die Saftbehalter. Da ago. nun der auf derselben befindliche Saft an der freyen Luft (1893-1894) wrote this masterpiece of observation liegt, und durch nichts gedeckt wird, so scheint derselbe von and analysis because he was convinced that only a dem Regen keineswegs geschützt zu seyn. Allein erstens ist detailed, regional, study of, on the one hand, the derselbe nicht eigentlich für Bienen und Hummeln be- visitors, their morphology and ethology, and on the stimmt, welche in Ansehung des Safts sehr ekel sind, und the flowers with their and einen mit Regenwasser vermischten Saft verschmähen, da other, morphology phys- sie sich aus andern Blumen einen solchen Saft zu ver- iology would enable a definite explanation of the schaffen wissen, der schlechterdings nicht vom Regen ver- functionality of flowers and their diversity. Essen- dorben werden kann. Sondern derselbe ist hauptsächlich these two tially, papers form the documentationof für Fliegen und andere unedlere Insekten bestimmt. Weil an earlier one (Mac Leod, 1889) in which he intro- diese zu dumm sind, um den in andern Blumen tiefversteck- duced an innovative method in ten und vor dem Regen völlig gesichertenSaft ausfindig zu (Van Paemel, 1992) machen; so haben sie keinen so feinen Geschmack, als die botany, which in retrospect can best be described as der Bienen und Hummeln, sind in Wahl desselben nicht so a graphical anova, to analyse the Belgian antho- ekel, sondern nehmen auch mit einem durch den Regen ver- philous fauna. Mac Leod's "graphical method" dorbenen Saft vorlieb. ... was later applied by Loew (1890) and Heinsius C.K. Sprengel, 1793:154. (1892). We present Mac Leod's (1893, 1894) data, to- gether with the often less detailed observations of Introduction other authors, to study the quantitative relationbe- tween the floral assemblage of N.W. Europe and The study of the relation between flowers and their the diversity of its anthophilous fauna. Such a visitors has tradition. a long Precisely 200 years broad-based approach was chosen, because pres- ago, Christian Konrad Sprengel (1793) published ent-day anthecology is mainly directed to individual his famous book "Das entdeckte Geheimniss now plant species that are particularly suited to unravel- der Natur im Bau und in der der Blu- Befruchtung ling specific problems. As aresult, the large majori- men", in which he single-handedly laid down the ty of plants which are unspecialised has received foundations of pollination biology. This major little attention. This leaves an ecologist or conser- contribution has been amply celebrated in 1893 vationist with no other option to support a predic- (references in Knuth, 1893, 1898-1905) and in 1993 tive statement, than to resort to traditionaltypolo- too there will be held at least two commemorative gies to register a plant as a "fly flower", "bee flow- symposia. Sprengel's main discovery was the mu- er", or, vaguest of all, "beetle flower" (Kugler, tual adaptation of flowers and their pollinators 1970; Van der Pijl, 1961). This is exacerbated by (Faegri & Van der Pijl, 1979; Meeuse & Morris, the fact that supposedly inefficient pollinators, like 1984). Coleoptera and Acalyptrata, have received com- A century after Sprengel a number of workers paratively little attention from modern anthecolo- with admirable tried, perseverance but with the gy (but see e.g. Brncic, 1966; Gottsberger, 1977; limited computational tools of their time, to estab- Kugler, 1951, 1984; Sabrosky, 1987). lish the thesis that had concen- quantitatively Sprengel Pollination biology by its very nature Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 09:50:54PM via free access Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 63 (4) - 1993 195 trates on the role insects and other vectors play in manifest mostly in rare organisms. the pollination of plants. Thatalternatively flowers The first pair of alternatives tests whether the an- often role in the exis- fauna play an important, crucial, thophilous as a whole can be regarded as of insects has been studied less often in such It be reasoned that tence specialised.
Recommended publications
  • Pollination and Evolution of Plant and Insect Interaction JPP 2017; 6(3): 304-311 Received: 03-03-2017 Accepted: 04-04-2017 Showket a Dar, Gh

    Pollination and Evolution of Plant and Insect Interaction JPP 2017; 6(3): 304-311 Received: 03-03-2017 Accepted: 04-04-2017 Showket a Dar, Gh

    Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2017; 6(3): 304-311 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 Pollination and evolution of plant and insect interaction JPP 2017; 6(3): 304-311 Received: 03-03-2017 Accepted: 04-04-2017 Showket A Dar, Gh. I Hassan, Bilal A Padder, Ab R Wani and Sajad H Showket A Dar Parey Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Shalimar, Jammu Abstract and Kashmir-India Flowers exploit insects to achieve pollination; at the same time insects exploit flowers for food. Insects and flowers are a partnership. Each insect group has evolved different sets of mouthparts to exploit the Gh. I Hassan food that flowers provide. From the insects' point of view collecting nectar or pollen is rather like fitting Sher-e-Kashmir University of a key into a lock; the mouthparts of each species can only exploit flowers of a certain size and shape. Agricultural Science and This is why, to support insect diversity in our gardens, we need to plant a diversity of suitable flowers. It Technology, Shalimar, Jammu is definitely not a case of 'one size fits all'. While some insects are generalists and can exploit a wide and Kashmir-India range of flowers, others are specialists and are quite particular in their needs. In flowering plants, pollen grains germinate to form pollen tubes that transport male gametes (sperm cells) to the egg cell in the Bilal A Padder embryo sac during sexual reproduction. Pollen tube biology is complex, presenting parallels with axon Sher-e-Kashmir University of guidance and moving cell systems in animals.
  • Plant-Pollinator Interactions in an Ecological and Evolutionary Context: the Promising

    Plant-Pollinator Interactions in an Ecological and Evolutionary Context: the Promising

    Plant-Pollinator Interactions in an Ecological and Evolutionary Context: The Promising Role of 3D-Printing Technology and Mathematical Modeling Eric Octavio Campos A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2017 Reading Committee: Thomas L. Daniel, Chair H.D. ‘Toby’ Bradshaw Janneke Hille Ris Lambers Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Biology ©Copyright 2017 Eric Octavio Campos University of Washington Abstract Plant-Pollinator Interactions in an Ecological and Evolutionary Context: The Promising Role of 3D-Printing Technology and Mathematical Modeling Eric Octavio Campos Co-Chairs of the Supervisory Committee: Professor H.D. ‘Toby’ Bradshaw Department of Biology Professor Thomas L. Daniel Department of Biology This dissertation concerns itself with the role of flower shape in affecting the foraging performance of pollinating animals. The pollinator used in this study is a model organism representing crepuscular hawkmoths in research involving the study of flight neuromuscular physiology and plant-pollinator interactions, Manduca sexta (hereafter Manduca). The broader goal of the work is to develop a new experimental framework for investigating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant-pollinator interactions. To that end, I have combined 3D-printing technology and mathematical modelling to construct artificial flowers, which can be manufactured with great precision and with objective, quantitatively describable shapes. First, I present a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting foraging data from a real animal pollinator attempting to feed from 3D-printed artificial flowers. I show that Manduca’s foraging performance is extremely sensitive to variation in floral corolla curvature and nectary diameter.
  • Diverse Nectar Robbers on Alpinia Roxburghii Sweet (Zingiberaceae)

    Diverse Nectar Robbers on Alpinia Roxburghii Sweet (Zingiberaceae)

    Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 8 (2015) 238e241 HOSTED BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/japb Short communication Diverse nectar robbers on Alpinia roxburghii Sweet (Zingiberaceae) Xiaobao Deng a, Wen Deng b, Alice Catherine Hughes c, Dharmalingam Mohandass a,* a Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Yunnan, PR China b Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan, PR China c Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Yunnan, PR China article info abstract Article history: This study records for the first time three mammal species as nectar robbers on the ginger Alpinia Received 29 April 2015 roxburghii Sweet. We examined the behavior of nectar robbers and compared with earlier studies on a Received in revised form single plant species. We recorded seven species of nectar robbers: three squirrels, one bird, and three 29 July 2015 bees. Timing of robbing nectars were similar; however, robbing behavior differed among robbers. In Accepted 30 July 2015 particular, squirrels damaged the flower parts while robbing the nectar. Available online 18 August 2015 Copyright Ó 2015, National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea National Arboretum (KNA). Production and hosting by Elsevier. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// Keywords: animal behavior creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ginger plant mammal-nectar robbers tropical seasonal rainforest Introduction studied in detail. Therefore, nectar robbers on ginger species could be a relevant topic to understand ecological consequences.
  • Effect of Mutualistic and Antagonistic Bees on Floral Resources and Pollination of a Savanna Shrub

    Effect of Mutualistic and Antagonistic Bees on Floral Resources and Pollination of a Savanna Shrub

    Flora 232 (2017) 30–38 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Flora j ournal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/flora Effect of mutualistic and antagonistic bees on floral resources and ଝ pollination of a savanna shrub a a,b c c,∗ Marília Monteiro Quinalha , Anselmo Nogueira , Gisela Ferreira , Elza Guimarães a Graduation Program in Biological Sciences (Botany), Institute of Biosciences, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil b Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil c Departament of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Since Darwin, cheaters have been described in plant-pollinator mutualisms. Bignoniaceae species have a Received 24 May 2016 wide interaction network with floral visitors, and most of those interactions are established with cheaters. Received in revised form 26 August 2016 Thus, our objective was to determine which role each floral visitor plays in a system composed by bees Accepted 30 August 2016 and a Bignoniaceae savanna species. So, here we described the bees’ behaviour and defined experi- Edited by S.D. Johnson mentally who are the mutualists and cheaters, we described the temporal sequence of interactions, Available online 6 September 2016 quantified pollen and nectar removal, and checked for the potential effect of robbery damages on pol- linator behaviour. Pollinators visited a small number of flowers, mainly in the early morning, while the Keywords: Bignoniaceae most frequent cheaters (robbers and thieves) visited the flowers throughout the day, increasing visi- Cheaters tation at midmorning, when pollinators had already visited the flowers.
  • Cheaters Must Prosper: Reconciling Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives on Cheating in Mutualism

    Cheaters Must Prosper: Reconciling Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives on Cheating in Mutualism

    Ecology Letters, (2015) 18: 1270–1284 doi: 10.1111/ele.12507 REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS Cheaters must prosper: reconciling theoretical and empirical perspectives on cheating in mutualism Abstract Emily I. Jones,1,2,3† Cheating is a focal concept in the study of mutualism, with the majority of researchers considering Michelle E. Afkhami,4 Erol Akßcay,5 cheating to be both prevalent and highly damaging. However, current definitions of cheating do Judith L. Bronstein,6 Redouan not reliably capture the evolutionary threat that has been a central motivation for the study of Bshary,7 Megan E. Frederickson,4 cheating. We describe the development of the cheating concept and distill a relative-fitness-based Katy D. Heath,8 Jason D. definition of cheating that encapsulates the evolutionary threat posed by cheating, i.e. that chea- Hoeksema,9 Joshua H. Ness,10 ters will spread and erode the benefits of mutualism. We then describe experiments required to 11 conclude that cheating is occurring and to quantify fitness conflict more generally. Next, we dis- M. Sabrina Pankey, Stephanie S. ‡ cuss how our definition and methods can generate comparability and integration of theory and Porter,12 Joel L. Sachs,12 Klara experiments, which are currently divided by their respective prioritisations of fitness consequences Scharnagl13 and Maren L. and traits. To evaluate the current empirical evidence for cheating, we review the literature on sev- Friesen13*,† eral of the best-studied mutualisms. We find that although there are numerous observations of low-quality partners, there is currently very little support from fitness data that any of these meet our criteria to be considered cheaters.
  • Nectar Robbers and Hummingbirds in a Highland Forest in Mexico

    Nectar Robbers and Hummingbirds in a Highland Forest in Mexico

    Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 997 Multiple ecological interactions: nectar robbers and hummingbirds in a highland forest in Mexico María del Coro Arizmendi Abstract: Nectar robbers are animals that extract the nectar produced by plants without effecting pollination. These animals can have negative, positive, or neutral effects on the interaction, depending on the direct and indirect effects of each participant in the system. The purpose of this work was to analyze the prevalence of nectar robbing and its tem- poral dynamics in a tropical highland forest in western Mexico. The system was studied in terms of the seasonal changes in (i) specific composition and abundance of hummingbird pollinators, their hosts, and the nectar robbers, (ii) use of resources by the nectarivorous birds and flowers, and (iii) prevalence of flower piercing by the cinnamon flowerpiercer, Diglossa baritula. The guild consisted of 17 species of hummingbirds, 2 species of nectar robbers, and 21 plant species that were visited by nectarivorous birds (robbers and pollinators). The relative abundance of birds and available flowers showed two peaks, one in winter and the other in the rainy season. Some plant species were used more than expected from their abundance. Overlap in the use of flowers among hummingbirds and also between hum- mingbirds and the nectar robbers was high. Nectar robbing was found to be widespread, occurring in almost all of the plants known to be hummingbird pollinated. The ratio of hummingbirds to nectar robbers was around 10 throughout the year. Résumé : Les voleurs de nectar sont des animaux qui extraient le nectar des plantes sans participer à leur pollinisation.
  • Agents for Pollination by Durgeshwer Singh

    Agents for Pollination by Durgeshwer Singh

    AGENTS FOR POLLINATION Durgeshwer Singh Department of Botany Mahatma Gandhi Central University Agents for Pollination As the pollen is not capable of locomotion, pollination involves some agents for transfer of pollen grains especially in case of cross pollination. Cross Pollination Abiotic Agents Biotic Agents Entomophily Anemophily Ornithophily Hydrophily Cheiropteriphily Malacophily ABIOTIC AGENTS Anemophily (Pollination by air/ wind) Adaptation • Flowers- inconspicuous, usually not brightly coloured or scented • Petals are either small and green or absent • Male flowers are more numerous than female • Anther are versatile so that they swing freely by air currents • Pollen grains are smooth walled, relatively light, small and dry so they can be easily blown away by wind. • In grasses, pollen grains are relatively heavy and hence are not suitable for transport by wind. To overcome this problem, the male flowers are borne in the upper part of the inflorescence and the female in the lower part. • Examples; Most cereals and palms, Member of Salicaceae (Poplar, willow), Betulaceae (Alder, hazel, birch), Fagaceae (Oak, beech), Ulmaceae (Elm), Urticaceae (Urtica) etc. Hydrophily (Pollination by water) Hydrophilous flower are small and inconspicuous like anemophilous Hypo-hydrophily Epi-hydrophily • Pollination takes place completely under • Pollination of flower at the surface of water. water • More common • Example - Vallisneria • Pollination of flower below water level • Whole male flower break and float on the and is found in submerged plants like surface. Najas, Ceratophyllum and Zostera • Female flower are raised to the surface by • Aerenchyma present in anther- float a long spiral stalk. BIOTIC AGENTS Most important agent for pollination • Entomophily: pollination by Insects • Ornithophily: pollination by birds • Chiropteriphily: pollination by bats • Malacophily: pollination by slug and snail Entomophily (Pollination by insects) • Most frequent in Angiosperms.
  • Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants MODEL QUESTIONS WITH

    Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants MODEL QUESTIONS WITH

    Class-12 Sub : Biology Chapter : Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants MODEL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER Multiple choice questions ( carrying 1 mark ) 1 .In angiosperm female gametophyte is: a) Embryo b) Egg Apparatus c)Embryo sac d) synergids Ans: c)Embryo sac 2. Exine layer of pollen grain is made up of : a) sporopollenin b)Pectin c) cellulose d)chitin Ans: a)sporopollenin 3. Embryo sac of angiosperm is : a) 6-celled 8-nucleate b) 7-celled 8-nucleate c)8-celled 7- nucleate d)7-celled 7-nucleate Ans: b) 7-celled 8-nucleate 4. Microsporogenesis is the formation of : a) Microspore b) Megaspore c) Egg d) Embryo sac Ans : a) Microspore 5 . Pollination by insect is called: a) Hydrophily b) Entomophily c) Anemophily d) Ornithophilly Ans: Entomophily 6 . Removal of anther is called: a) Emasculation b) Bagging c) Artificial hybridization d) pollination Ans: a) Emasculation 7 . Which layer of microsporangium provides nutrition to the developing pollen grains: a) Epidermis b) Endothecium c) Tapetum d) All Ans : c) Tapetum 8 . The transfer of pollen grains from anther to stigma is called; a) Fertilization b) pollination c) Microsporogenesis d) Polyembryony Ans. b) Pollination 9 . Occurrence of more than one embryo in a seed is known as: a) Polyembryony b) parthenocarpy c) Apomixis d) Embryogeny Ans: a) Polyembryony 10 . A typical angiospermic anther is; a) Bilobed b) unilobed c) Trilobed d) Tetralobed Ans: a) Bilobed II. Very short questions (carrying 2 marks) Q1. Name two cells of a mature pollen grain? Ans: Vegetative cell and Generative cell Q2. What do you mean by parthenocarpy? Ans: Formation of fruit without fertilization is known as parthenocarpy.
  • Être' of Toxic Secondary Compounds in the Pollen of Boraginaceae

    Être' of Toxic Secondary Compounds in the Pollen of Boraginaceae

    Received: 1 November 2019 | Accepted: 11 April 2020 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13581 RESEARCH ARTICLE To bee or not to bee: The ‘raison d'être’ of toxic secondary compounds in the pollen of Boraginaceae Vincent Trunz1 | Matteo A. Lucchetti1,2 | Dimitri Bénon1 | Achik Dorchin3 | Gaylord A. Desurmont4 | Christina Kast2 | Sergio Rasmann1 | Gaétan Glauser5 | Christophe J. Praz1 1Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland Abstract 2Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, 1. While the presence of secondary compounds in floral nectar has received consid- Bern, Switzerland erable attention, much less is known about the ecological significance and evolu- 3The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel tionary origin of secondary ‘toxic’ compounds in pollen. It is unclear whether the 4European Biological Control Laboratory, presence of these compounds in pollen is non-adaptive and due to physiological USDA ARS, Montferrier-Sur-Lez, France ‘spillover’ from other floral tissues, or whether these compounds serve an adap- 5Neuchatel Platform of Analytical tive function related to plant–pollinator interactions, such as protection of pollen Chemistry, University of Neuchatel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland against pollen thieves. 2. Combining an experimental approach with phylogenetic comparative methods, Correspondence Christophe J. Praz and using western Palaearctic Boraginaceae as a model system, we investigate Email: [email protected] how pollen secondary metabolites influence, and are influenced by, relationships Funding information with bees, the main functional group of pollen-foraging pollinators. University of Neuchatel; Foundation 3. We found a significant relationship between the levels of secondary compounds Joachim de Giacomi in the corollas and those in the pollen in the investigated species of Boraginaceae, Handling Editor: Diane Campbell suggesting that baseline levels of pollen secondary compounds may partly be due to spillover from floral tissues.
  • When Bees Exploit Plants: Nectar Robbery Nicholas Charlton, University of Bristol, Nic.Charlton@Bristol.Ac.Uk ©Nicholas Charlton

    When Bees Exploit Plants: Nectar Robbery Nicholas Charlton, University of Bristol, [email protected] ©Nicholas Charlton

    Feedback 50 June 2011 When bees exploit plants: Nectar robbery Nicholas Charlton, University of Bristol, [email protected] ©Nicholas Charlton he amazing variety and beauty of flowers we see wasting energy on producing nectar, but still benefit in our gardens is partly due to the relationship from pollination. Tbetween plants and their pollinators. Through millions of years of evolution, insects have adapted to There is another example of a ‘cheater’ taking advan- use flowers and plants have adapted to use insects. By tage of the situation, but with the roles reversed. Some producing a sugary reward in the form of nectar, plants species of bees have learnt to steal nectar from flowers attract insects to their flowers and use those insects to without pollinating them. To do this, the bee will make carry their pollen. The plants benefit from having their a hole in the flower near to the source of the nectar. This pollen spread over greater distances and with much makes it possible for bees with short tongues to reach more accuracy than if transported by wind. The insects nectar in long flowers which would normally be too benefit by gaining a source of high energy food in the deep to reach. The bee will then use the hole to extract form of nectar. This relationship can then be consid- the sugary reward without going near the stigmas and ered a mutual one, with both groups gaining an advan- stamens. This behaviour is described as nectar robbery. tage from the interaction. You may have seen bumble bees doing this in your gar- den as it has been observed on several different types In every mutualism, however, there may be opportuni- of plants, including red campion (Silene dioica), bleed- ties to take advantage of the situation.
  • Serrate Tomia: an Adaptation for Nectar Robbing in Hummingbirds?

    Serrate Tomia: an Adaptation for Nectar Robbing in Hummingbirds?

    Short Communications and Commentaries The Auk 111(3):703-710, 1994 Serrate Tomia: An Adaptation for Nectar Robbing in Hummingbirds? JtJAN FRANCISCOORNELAS Departmentof Ecologyand EvolutionaryBiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Hummingbirds are distinguished from all other straight or curved mandibles. Bill serrationsare very groups of birds by the range of bill-shape and bill- conspicuouson both tomia in Androdonand Rampho- length variation.Such bill configurationsare thought don,but in Glaucisand Sapphoserrations were detected to match particular floral morphologies(e.g. Grant only on the maxillary tomium. The serrationsare and Grant 1968, Stiles 1978, Brown and Kodric-Brown presentonly on one-thirdto one-halfof the bill start- 1979, Stein 1992). Considerable research has been ing at the tip. Thosetoward the tip usuallyare longer conductedon bill shapeand length variation;in con- and slant posteriorlyat an angle of 45ø . trast, serrations have not received much attention. In In the 24 genera lacking hooked bill tips but having their extensivereview of the literature dealing with serratedtomia, the serrationsat the tip of the bill are bills (and tongues)of nectarivorousbirds, Paton and not as enlarged as in the previous group. Sixteen Collins (1989) make no mention of bill serrations. Bill generahave serrationsonly on the maxillary tomium serrations,a variable feature among hummingbirds, and 8 generahave serrationson both tomia (seeTable have been studied only in a few species.Only two 1). genera, Androdonand Ramphodon,have
  • Pollination Biology

    Pollination Biology

    Pollination Biology . real story of the birds & bees . and beetles, bugs, butterflies, bats Sexual Reproduction in Plants • Movement onto land is an issue for sexual reproduction in plants - unlike for animals • rely on movement of (1) pollen, (2) young embryo encased in a seed (or fruit), or (3) spores pollination biology seed dispersal Sexual Reproduction in Plants Pollination and seed/spore dispersal important aspects of biosystematics in plants: • Gene flow • Outcrossing vs. inbreeding • Reproductive isolation • Speciation spore dispersal • Co-speciation (coevolution) pollination biology seed dispersal Coevolution Coevolution – interactions between two different clades as selective forces on each other, resulting in adaptations that increase their interdependency Animal-flowering plant interaction is a classic example of coevolution: • Plants evolve elaborate methods to attract animal pollinators • Animals evolve specialized body parts and behaviors that aid plant pollination ! Coevolution109 • coevolution with pollinators often leads to convergence and divergence in flowers • best studied has been the phlox family: Polemoniaceae Fig. 1. Floral diversity in Polemoniaceae. (A) Leptosiphon aureus subsp. aureus; (B) Saltugilia splendens subsp. grantii; (C) Navarretia hamata subsp. hamata; (D) Leptosiphon montanus; (E) Phlox divaricata subsp. laphamii; (F) Cantua buxifolia; (G) Aliciellla latifolia subsp. latifolia; (H) Linanthus orcutii; (I) Saltugilia caruifolia; (J) Loeseliastrum schottii; (K) Cobaea scandens; (L) Eriastrum eremicum