POLLEN, POLLINATION & POLLINATORS PLANT SEX! MORE PLANT SEX!! Are they at it again? ????????????????????????????????? WHAT IS POLLEN ANYWAY? FLOWER SPERM!! OR THAT FLOWER / TREE ‘DUST’ THAT MAKES YOU SNEEZE!! FLOWER PARTS REVIEW FLOWER PARTS: • OVARY – where seeds are made • Stigma – female part of flower • Anthers – male flower parts • Style – tube that leads to the ovary, female part • Pollen – small particles on the anthers that are needed to make seeds • Fertilization – pollen enters the ovary to make seeds. SPLAIN THEM FLOWER PARTS AGAIN! STAMEN (Male) PISTOL (female) 1. Male reproductive organ 1. Female reproductive part of flower 2. Consists of 2 parts (anther & filament) 2. Consists of 3 parts (ovary, style, stigma) 3. Produces pollen grains 3. Bears number of ovules in the ovary 4. Pollen grains germinate to produce male gametes 4. Ovules possess the sac like structure – embryo sac. (Gamete – mature cell, ready to mate male / female) The sac possess the egg which represents the female gamete. 5. During pollination the pollen grains from the 5. During pollination the pollen grains, after stamen are dispersed. dispersal, reaches the stigma where germination of the pollen grains occurs. ???? Flowers & Pollen ???? POLLEN POLLEN IS A powdery substance, typically yellow, produced in the anthers (male) of seed bearing plants consisting of microscopic grains containing the male gametes (sperm cells). Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize a female ovule. Pollen is transported via insects, wind, other animals, etc. MORE ABOUT POLLEN Study of pollen is called - Palynology TWO TYPES OF POLLEN • Entomophiles – pollen collected by insects (etc.) • Anemophilous – carried by wind OH COME ON! More about POLLEN Scientists study pollen: • Paleoecology – study of extinct life. Ecology and data from fossils of plants & animals. Fossilized pollen • Archaeology– study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material from a culture. • Forensics – application of scientific information to criminal and civil law. Collection, preservation, and analysis of evidence. POLLEN ALLERGIES ALLERGIES An allergic reaction: is what happens when your immune system reacts to something that is usually harmless. Allergan: the trigger. Can be pollen, mold, dander, etc. SOUND FAMILIAR? Itchy eyes Sneezing Itchy, runny nose Tickle in your throat Rash Hives Tired POLLEN COUNT INDEX OF AMOUNT OF POLLEN IN THE AIR www.pollen.com INTERESTING! According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology 54% of Americans suffer from some sort of allergy! Double the amount since 1980! Cost to healthcare system: $18,000,000 per year. IT Is eVERWHERE! EVERYWHERE THERE IS NO ESCAPE WHY SO MANY SUFFER? ? Better at diagnosing an allergic reaction ? ? Increase in amount of CO2 in the air ? ? Our obsession with cleanliness – has it increased our lack of exposure to microorganisms and parasites throwing our immune systems in to ‘overdrive’ ? ? Local ecology issues ? NECTAR NECTAR – Flavor for the gods Nectar is a sugary liquid formed by glands in a flower called nectaries, which are located at the base of flower petals in the carpel. Nectar contains: sucrose, fructose, glucose, protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, organic acids, lipids, antioxidants, alkaloids and oils. Amount varies per plant. WHERE’S THE NECTAR? COME ON OVER FOR A DRINK Pedals of the flower attract the insect with the promise of nectar to be found inside the flower carpel. POLLINATION Is: ? POLLINATION POLLINATION SIMPLE HUH? OR: CLEAR AS: In Understandable Terms? POLLINATION IS: Process in which pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma (sex organs of seed plants). Thereby, enabling fertilization and reproduction through growth of the pollen tube and eventual release of sperm. Bees pollinate by smell, butterflies by sight. SIMPLER YET The bee (etc.) gets covered in pollen, from the male part of the plant, and deposits the pollen rains on the female parts of the next flower it visits. Once the pollen is on the female part it moves to the ovary where it fertilizes and forms a seed. A LITTLE MORE SIMPLY PUT Meet THE Big Pollinator EVEN MORE ABOUT POLLEN: TERMS • SELF POLLINATION = when plants stamen (male) sheds pollen directly into its own stigma (female). • CROSS POLLENATION = when pollen (boy stuff) travels to the pistil (girl stuff) of another plant via wind or when pollen sticks to an insect. Then, insect travels to another flower pollen is left behind – RESULT = fertilization! ABoUT POLLEN / POLLInATION CROSS POLLINATION vs. SELF POLLINATION CROSS POLLINATION SELF POLLINATION Insects: apples, grapes. Plums. Pears, raspberries, Orchids, peas, sunflowers, wheat, oats, rice, barley, blackberries, strawberries, pumpkins, daffodils, tomatoes, potatoes, apricots, peaches lavender Wind: grasses, maple trees, dandelions. Transfer: wind, insects, water, animals, etc. Shed pollen directly into stigma Plant differences: Brightly colored pedals, nectar and Smaller flowers scent, long stamens & pistols Results: More variety and diversity. Relies on Uniform. Less resistant to disease. Does not expand pollinators that travel from plant to plant energy to attract pollinators Number of pollen grains: Large number Small number PLANTS THAT SELF POLLINATE Most plants use cross pollination. Those that use insects tend to have brightly colored flowers. Those who are wind pollinated have long stamens and pistols with small or no petals. Self pollination: Smaller flowers Some cross pollinating flowers can self pollinate if cross pollination is not successful….peas & sunflowers IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATION 35% of our food around the globe is highly dependent on animals for pollination. YIKESYIKES!!!!!! FOOD & POLLInATION POLLINATION POLLInATION PLANT FOR THE BEES FOR THE BEES MEET MORE POLLINATORS BEES THE HARDEST WORKING CREATURE ON EARTH. 25,000 species world wide 4,000 in United States 400 in Ohio Separated into just nine families Apidea family contains those bees we are most familiar with, The honeybee, bumblebee, and carpenter bee. BEES “To a bee, a flower is the fountain of life, and to the flower, the bee is the messenger of love”. Poet – Kahili Gabram BEES - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - BEES More than 400 crops rely on bees for pollination. Annual global crop pollination by bees is estimated to be worth $170,000,000,000 BEES Beyond monetary value for maintaining our fragile food supply, bees make an invaluable contribution to ecosystems around the world. Seeds, fruits, and berries eaten by birds and small mammals are all from plants that are bee pollinated. BEES = guardian of the food chain and the biodiversity of our species. BEES Bees are industrious pollinators because they have co- evolved with flowering plants over millions of years. Bees need flowers for food, the flower needs the bee to reproduce. Unlike other insects, nectar and pollen from flowering plants are bees’ only source of food source; the sweet nectar drink gives adult bees energy. Pollen is protein rich baby food. CIRCLE OF LIFE Think of an apple tree: it blossoms, is visited by bees, produces apples later in the summer containing seeds, which if planted slowly grows into a new apple tree. ????????????????? Albert Einstein is attributed to have said: “If the bee disappeared off the face off the globe then man would only have four years left to live”. BEE HISTORY Cave drawings dating back 20,000 years depict images of honey hunting. The ancient Egyptians transported their hives along the Nile to pollinate crops and buried their pharaohs with containers of honey, to sweeten the afterlife. MEET THE BEES FIRST: HONEYBEES HONEY BEES Are not native to the United States. The came from Europe with the settlers. HONEY BEE LIFE CYCLE Egg, Larvae, Pupa, Adult Eggs hatch in 3 days into workers. Larvae feed over 1000 times a day, feed by ‘brood nurses’, food made by pollen, honey, and bee secretions (bee bread). In 6 days egg cells are capped and each larvae spins itself a cocoon, becoming a pupa. In 10 days workers emerge (females), drones emerge in 12 days A QUEEN emerges (she has been fed ‘royal jelly’ (much richer) emerges in 6 days. HONEYBEE SIZE THE QUEEN BEE • IS larger, with a pointed abdomen • Lays 1500 eggs a day – lives 3-4 years • Has thousands of sex partners • Stores up to 6,000,000 sperm cells • Controls the workers behaviors with pheromones, but in the reduction or loss of that pheromone the workers decide a new queen is needed. • Pheromones also determine when a new hive is needed – the queen and ½ of the hive will swarm, looking for a new home. THE WORKERS – the girls • GIRLS RULE! • Make all of the decisions about the hive. • Changes tasks as she ages • Clean the cells • Cap the cells • Tend the brood and the QUEEN • Are neat freaks, clean the hive • Pack the pollen • Build the comb A GAL’S WORK IS NEVER DONE! • She ventilates the hive (flaps her wings) • She guards the hive • She may fly up to 8 miles to find pollen & nectar • Only lives about 5 weeks • Works herself to death – lives 6-7 weeks • When death is near she will fly away from the hive to die alone THE DRONES – the boys • Spend their lives drinking nectar and mating • Do little to maintain the hive • Live up to four months - BUT- • Are only reared when it suits the queen • Not all even get to mate – rarely get to mate with a virgin queen • Die just after mating • At end of summer get kicked out of the colony – so not to deplete resources of the hive. MORE ON HONEY BEES A colony consists of 20- 60,000 or more bees. The colony over winters, common in US to lose up to 40% of a hive per year. Honeybees cluster in the hive and keep the hive at a constant temperature during the winter. HONEY BEE – THE POLLINATOR It is said that the honeybee are our most important pollinator, while that may be true, it really depends on the crop being pollinated.