1
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Izquierdo JV, Costas SM, Castillo S, Baranzelli MC, Sazatornil F, Benitez-Vieyra S. Local adaptation to hummingbirds and bees in Salvia stachydifolia: insights into pollinator shifts in a Southern Andean sage. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 132:1119-1130. [PMID: 37616580 PMCID: PMC10809053 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Differences among populations in pollinator assemblages can lead to local adaptation mosaics in which plants evolve different floral morphologies and attractive traits. Mountain habitats may promote local adaptation because of differences in environmental conditions with altitude, causing changes in pollinators, and because mountaintops can act as isolated habitats. We studied if the differences in floral shape, size and nectar traits in Salvia stachydifolia can be attributed to variations in the relative contribution of hummingbirds and insects. METHODS We studied eight populations of S. stachydifolia in natural and under common garden conditions, to assess whether population differences have a genetic component. We recorded pollinators, their behaviour and visitation rates, and characterized pollinator assemblages. In addition, we measured nectar volume and concentration, and collected flowers to describe floral shape and size variation using geometric morphometric methods. We then applied an unsupervised learning algorithm to identify ecotypes based on morphometric traits. Finally, we explored whether populations with different pollinator assemblages had different climatic and/or elevation preferences. KEY RESULTS We found that variation in the identity of the main pollinators was associated with differences among populations in all traits, as expected under a local adaptation scenario. These differences persisted in the common garden, suggesting that they were not due to phenotypic plasticity. We found S. stachydifolia populations were pollinated either by bees, by hummingbirds or had mixed pollination. We identified two ecotypes that correspond to the identity of the main pollinator guilds, irrespective of climate or altitude. CONCLUSIONS Variation in S. stachydifolia floral traits did not follow any evident association with bioclimatic factors, suggesting that populations may have diverged as the product of historical isolation on mountaintops. We suggest that differences among populations point to incipient speciation and an ongoing pollinator shift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana V Izquierdo
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Santiago M Costas
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Santiago Castillo
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Matíias C Baranzelli
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Federico Sazatornil
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Santiago Benitez-Vieyra
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – CONICET), CC 495 (X5000ZAA), Córdoba, Argentina
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2
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Stelling‐Wood TP, Poore AGB, Hughes AR, Everett JD, Gribben PE. Habitat traits and predation interact to drive abundance and body size patterns in associated fauna. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10771. [PMID: 38053789 PMCID: PMC10694384 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Habitat-forming organisms provide three-dimensional structure that supports abundant and diverse communities. Variation in the morphological traits of habitat formers will therefore likely influence how they facilitate associated communities, either via food and habitat provisioning, or by altering predator-prey interactions. These mechanisms, however, are typically studied in isolation, and thus, we know little of how they interact to affect associated communities. In response to this, we used naturally occurring morphological variability in the alga Sargassum vestitum to create habitat units of distinct morphotypes to test whether variation in the morphological traits (frond size and thallus size) of S. vestitum or the interaction between these traits affects their value as habitat for associated communities in the presence and absence of predation. We found morphological traits did not interact, instead having independent effects on epifauna that were negligible in the absence of predation. However, when predators were present, habitat units with large fronds were found to host significantly lower epifaunal abundances than other morphotypes, suggesting that large frond alga provided low-value refuge from predators. The presence of predators also influenced the size structure of epifaunal communities from habitat units of differing frond size, suggesting that the refuge value of S. vestitum was also related to epifauna body size. This suggests that habitat formers may chiefly structure associated communities by mediating size-selective predation, and not through habitat provisioning. Furthermore, these results also highlight that habitat traits cannot be considered in isolation, for their interaction with biotic processes can have significant implications for associated communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia P. Stelling‐Wood
- Evolution & Ecology Research CentreUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Centre of Marine Science and InnovationUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Alistair G. B. Poore
- Evolution & Ecology Research CentreUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Centre of Marine Science and InnovationUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | | | - Jason D. Everett
- Centre of Marine Science and InnovationUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- School of Mathematics and PhysicsThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQueenslandAustralia
| | - Paul E. Gribben
- Centre of Marine Science and InnovationUNSW SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Institute of Marine ScienceMosmanNew South WalesAustralia
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3
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Maguiña‐Conde R, Zuñiga‐Rivas D, Kay KM. An elevational gradient in floral traits and pollinator assemblages in the Neotropical species Costus guanaiensis var. tarmicus in Peru. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10314. [PMID: 37529588 PMCID: PMC10375365 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Different populations of plant species can adapt to their local pollinators and diverge in floral traits accordingly. Floral traits are subject to pollinator-driven natural selection to enhance plant reproductive success. Studies on temperate plant systems have shown pollinator-driven selection results in floral trait variation along elevational gradients, but studies in tropical systems are lacking. We analyzed floral traits and pollinator assemblages in the Neotropical bee-pollinated taxon Costus guanaiensis var. tarmicus across four sites along a steep elevational gradient in Peru. We found variations in floral traits of size, color, and reward, and in the pollinator assemblage along the elevational gradient. We examined our results considering two hypotheses, (1) local adaptation to different bee assemblages, and (2) the early stages of an evolutionary shift to a new pollinator functional group (hummingbirds). We found some evidence consistent with the adaptation of C. guanaiensis var. tarmicus to the local bee fauna along the studied elevational gradient. Corolla width across sites was associated with bee thorax width of the local most frequent pollinator. However, we could not rule out the possibility of the beginning of a bee-to-hummingbird pollination shift in the highest-studied site. Our study is one of the few geographic-scale analyses of floral trait and pollinator assemblage variation in tropical plant species. Our results broaden our understanding of plant-pollinator interactions beyond temperate systems by showing substantial intraspecific divergence in both floral traits and pollinator assemblages across geographic space in a tropical plant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Maguiña‐Conde
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology DepartmentUniversity of California Santa CruzSanta CruzCaliforniaUSA
| | - Dorali Zuñiga‐Rivas
- Laboratorio de EntomologíaUniversidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del CuscoCuscoPeru
| | - Kathleen M. Kay
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology DepartmentUniversity of California Santa CruzSanta CruzCaliforniaUSA
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4
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Xiang GJ, Lázaro A, Dai XK, Xia J, Yang CF. Pollinator Proboscis Length Plays a Key Role in Floral Integration of Honeysuckle Flowers ( Lonicera spp.). PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1629. [PMID: 37111853 PMCID: PMC10144162 DOI: 10.3390/plants12081629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Pollinator-mediated selection is supposed to influence floral integration. However, the potential pathway through which pollinators drive floral integration needs further investigations. We propose that pollinator proboscis length may play a key role in the evolution of floral integration. We first assessed the divergence of floral traits in 11 Lonicera species. Further, we detected the influence of pollinator proboscis length and eight floral traits on floral integration. We then used phylogenetic structural equation models (PSEMs) to illustrate the pathway through which pollinators drive the divergence of floral integration. Results of PCA indicated that species significantly differed in floral traits. Floral integration increased along with corolla tube length, stigma height, lip length, and the main pollinators' proboscis length. PSEMs revealed a potential pathway by which pollinator proboscis length directly selected on corolla tube length and stigma height, while lip length co-varied with stigma height. Compared to species with short corolla tubes, long-tube flowers may experience more intense pollinator-mediated selection due to more specialized pollination systems and thus reduce variation in the floral traits. Along elongation of corolla tube and stigma height, the covariation of other relevant traits might help to maintain pollination success. The direct and indirect pollinator-mediation selection collectively enhances floral integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gan-Ju Xiang
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
| | - Amparo Lázaro
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies (IMEDEA; UIB-CSIC), 07190 Esporles, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Department of Biology, Ecology Area, University of the Balearic Islands, 07190 Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - Xiao-Kang Dai
- College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Jing Xia
- Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for Protection and Application of Special Plant Germplasm in Wuling Area of China, College of Life Sciences, South-Central Minzu University, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Chun-Feng Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
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5
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Lüthi MN, Berardi AE, Mandel T, Freitas LB, Kuhlemeier C. Single gene mutation in a plant MYB transcription factor causes a major shift in pollinator preference. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5295-5308.e5. [PMID: 36473466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the molecular basis of reproductive isolation and speciation is a key goal of evolutionary genetics. In the South American genus Petunia, the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB-FL regulates the biosynthesis of UV-absorbing flavonol pigments, a major determinant of pollinator preference. MYB-FL is highly expressed in the hawkmoth-pollinated P. axillaris, but independent losses of its activity in sister taxa P. secreta and P. exserta led to UV-reflective flowers and associated pollinator shifts in each lineage (bees and hummingbirds, respectively). We created a myb-fl CRISPR mutant in P. axillaris and studied the effect of this single gene on innate pollinator preference. The mutation strongly reduced the expression of the two key flavonol-related biosynthetic genes but only affected the expression of few other genes. The mutant flowers were UV reflective as expected but additionally contained low levels of visible anthocyanin pigments. Hawkmoths strongly preferred the wild-type P. axillaris over the myb-fl mutant, whereas both social and solitary bee preference depended on the level of visible color of the mutants. MYB-FL, with its specific expression pattern, small number of target genes, and key position at the nexus of flavonol and anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways, provides a striking example of evolution by single mutations of large phenotypic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina N Lüthi
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea E Berardi
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Therese Mandel
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Loreta B Freitas
- Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, POB 15053, Porto Alegre, 91501970 Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Cris Kuhlemeier
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland.
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6
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McCarren S, Midgley JJ, Johnson SD. Biomechanics of nectar feeding explain flower orientation in plants pollinated by long-proboscid flies. Naturwissenschaften 2022; 109:47. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-022-01817-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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7
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Howard SR, Dyer AG, Garcia JE, Giurfa M, Reser DH, Rosa MGP, Avarguès-Weber A. Naïve and Experienced Honeybee Foragers Learn Normally Configured Flowers More Easily Than Non-configured or Highly Contrasted Flowers. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.662336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Angiosperms have evolved to attract and/or deter specific pollinators. Flowers provide signals and cues such as scent, colour, size, pattern, and shape, which allow certain pollinators to more easily find and visit the same type of flower. Over evolutionary time, bees and angiosperms have co-evolved resulting in flowers being more attractive to bee vision and preferences, and allowing bees to recognise specific flower traits to make decisions on where to forage. Here we tested whether bees are instinctively tuned to process flower shape by training both flower-experienced and flower-naïve honeybee foragers to discriminate between pictures of two different flower species when images were either normally configured flowers or flowers which were scrambled in terms of spatial configuration. We also tested whether increasing picture contrast, to make flower features more salient, would improve or impair performance. We used four flower conditions: (i) normally configured greyscale flower pictures, (ii) scrambled flower configurations, (iii) high contrast normally configured flowers, and (iv) asymmetrically scrambled flowers. While all flower pictures contained very similar spatial information, both experienced and naïve bees were better able to learn to discriminate between normally configured flowers than between any of the modified versions. Our results suggest that a specialisation in flower recognition in bees is due to a combination of hard-wired neural circuitry and experience-dependent factors.
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8
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Howard SR, Prendergast K, Symonds MRE, Shrestha M, Dyer AG. Spontaneous choices for insect-pollinated flower shapes by wild non-eusocial halictid bees. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271069. [PMID: 34318316 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The majority of angiosperms require animal pollination for reproduction, and insects are the dominant group of animal pollinators. Bees are considered one of the most important and abundant insect pollinators. Research into bee behaviour and foraging decisions has typically centred on managed eusocial bee species, including Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris. Non-eusocial bees are understudied with respect to foraging strategies and decision making, such as flower preferences. Understanding whether there are fundamental foraging strategies and preferences that are features of insect groups can provide key insights into the evolution of flower-pollinator co-evolution. In the current study, Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium and Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) sp., two native Australian generalist halictid bees, were tested for flower shape preferences between native insect-pollinated and bird-pollinated flowers. Each bee was presented with achromatic images of either insect-pollinated or bird-pollinated flowers in a circular arena. Both native bee species demonstrated a significant preference for images of insect-pollinated flowers. These preferences are similar to those found in A. mellifera, suggesting that flower shape preference may be a deep-rooted evolutionary occurrence within bees. With growing interest in the sensory capabilities of non-eusocial bees as alternative pollinators, the current study also provides a valuable framework for further behavioural testing of such species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett R Howard
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Kit Prendergast
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Matthew R E Symonds
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Mani Shrestha
- Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.,Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Adrian G Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.,Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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9
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Edwards MB, Choi GPT, Derieg NJ, Min Y, Diana AC, Hodges SA, Mahadevan L, Kramer EM, Ballerini ES. Genetic architecture of floral traits in bee- and hummingbird-pollinated sister species of Aquilegia (columbine). Evolution 2021; 75:2197-2216. [PMID: 34270789 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Interactions with animal pollinators have helped shape the stunning diversity of flower morphologies across the angiosperms. A common evolutionary consequence of these interactions is that some flowers have converged on suites of traits, or pollination syndromes, that attract and reward specific pollinator groups. Determining the genetic basis of these floral pollination syndromes can help us understand the processes that contributed to the diversification of the angiosperms. Here, we characterize the genetic architecture of a bee-to-hummingbird pollination shift in Aquilegia (columbine) using QTL mapping of 17 floral traits encompassing color, nectar composition, and organ morphology. In this system, we find that the genetic architectures underlying differences in floral color are quite complex, and we identify several likely candidate genes involved in anthocyanin and carotenoid floral pigmentation. Most morphological and nectar traits also have complex genetic underpinnings; however, one of the key floral morphological phenotypes, nectar spur curvature, is shaped by a single locus of large effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly B Edwards
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Gary P T Choi
- Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142
| | - Nathan J Derieg
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Ya Min
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Angie C Diana
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Scott A Hodges
- Department of Ecology, Evolutionary, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Babara, California, 93106
| | - L Mahadevan
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138.,School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138.,Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Elena M Kramer
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Evangeline S Ballerini
- Department of Ecology, Evolutionary, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Babara, California, 93106.,Dept. of Biological Sciences, California State University Sacramento, Sacramento, California, 95819
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10
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Ohashi K, Jürgens A, Thomson JD. Trade-off mitigation: a conceptual framework for understanding floral adaptation in multispecies interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2258-2280. [PMID: 34096158 PMCID: PMC8518848 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Explanations of floral adaptation to diverse pollinator faunas have often invoked visitor‐mediated trade‐offs in which no intermediate, generalized floral phenotype is optimal for pollination success, i.e. fitness valleys are created. In such cases, plant species are expected to specialize on particular groups of flower visitors. Contrary to this expectation, it is commonly observed that flowers interact with various groups of visitors, while at the same time maintaining distinct phenotypes among ecotypes, subspecies, or congeners. This apparent paradox may be due to a gap in our understanding of how visitor‐mediated trade‐offs could affect floral adaptation. Here we provide a conceptual framework for analysing visitor‐mediated trade‐offs with the hope of stimulating empirical and theoretical studies to fill this gap. We propose two types of visitor‐mediated trade‐offs to address negative correlations among fitness contributions of different visitors: visitor‐mediated phenotypic trade‐offs (phenotypic trade‐offs) and visitor‐mediated opportunity trade‐offs (opportunity trade‐offs). Phenotypic trade‐offs occur when different groups of visitors impose conflicting selection pressures on a floral trait. By contrast, opportunity trade‐offs emerge only when some visitors’ actions (e.g. pollen collection) remove opportunities for fitness contribution by more beneficial visitors. Previous studies have observed disruptive selection due to phenotypic trade‐offs less often than expected. In addition to existing explanations, we propose that some flowers have achieved ‘adaptive generalization’ by evolving features to avoid or eliminate the fitness valleys that phenotypic trade‐offs tend to produce. The literature suggests a variety of pathways to such ‘trade‐off mitigation’. Trade‐off mitigation may also evolve as an adaptation to opportunity trade‐offs. We argue that active exclusion, or floral specialization, can be viewed as a trade‐off mitigation, occurring only when flowers cannot otherwise avoid strong opportunity trade‐offs. These considerations suggest that an evolutionary strategy for trade‐off mitigation is achieved often by acquiring novel combinations of traits. Thus, phenotypic diversification of flowers through convergent evolution of certain trait combinations may have been enhanced not only through adaptive specialization for particular visitors, but also through adaptive generalization for particular visitor communities. Explorations of how visitor‐mediated trade‐offs explain the recurrent patterns of floral phenotypes may help reconcile the long‐lasting controversy on the validity of pollination syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuharu Ohashi
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.,Department of Biology, Chemical Plant Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 4, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Andreas Jürgens
- Department of Biology, Chemical Plant Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 4, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - James D Thomson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3G5, Canada
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11
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Rico-Guevara A, Hurme KJ, Elting R, Russell AL. Bene"fit" Assessment in Pollination Coevolution: Mechanistic Perspectives on Hummingbird Bill-Flower Matching. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:681-695. [PMID: 34050734 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the reasons why flowering plants became the most diverse group of land plants is their association with animals to reproduce. The earliest examples of this mutualism involved insects foraging for food from plants and, in the process, pollinating them. Vertebrates are latecomers to these mutualisms, but birds, in particular, present a wide variety of nectar-feeding clades that have adapted to solve similar challenges. Such challenges include surviving on small caloric rewards widely scattered across the landscape, matching their foraging strategy to nectar replenishment rate, and efficiently collecting this liquid food from well-protected chambers deep inside flowers. One particular set of convergent traits among plants and their bird pollinators has been especially well studied: the match between the shape and size of bird bills and ornithophilous flowers. Focusing on a highly specialized group, hummingbirds, we examine the expected benefits from bill-flower matching, with a strong focus on the benefits to the hummingbird and how to quantify them. Explanations for the coevolution of bill-flower matching include (1) that the evolution of traits by bird-pollinated plants, such as long and thin corollas, prevents less efficient pollinators (e.g., insects) from accessing the nectar and (2) that increased matching, as a result of reciprocal adaptation, benefits both the bird (nectar extraction efficiency) and the plant (pollen transfer). In addition to nectar-feeding, we discuss how interference and exploitative competition also play a significant role in the evolution and maintenance of trait matching. We present hummingbird-plant interactions as a model system to understand how trait matching evolves and how pollinator behavior can modify expectations based solely on morphological matching, and discuss the implications of this behavioral modulation for the maintenance of specialization. While this perspective piece directly concerns hummingbird-plant interactions, the implications are much broader. Functional trait matching is likely common in coevolutionary interactions (e.g., in predator-prey interactions), yet the physical mechanisms underlying trait matching are understudied and rarely quantified. We summarize existing methods and present novel approaches that can be used to quantify key benefits to interacting partners in a variety of ecological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Rico-Guevara
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Division of Ornithology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, 4300 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Kristiina J Hurme
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Rosalee Elting
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Division of Ornithology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, 4300 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Avery L Russell
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, 910 S John Q Hammons Pkwy, Springfield, MO 65897, USA
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12
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Nelson TC, Stathos AM, Vanderpool DD, Finseth FR, Yuan YW, Fishman L. Ancient and recent introgression shape the evolutionary history of pollinator adaptation and speciation in a model monkeyflower radiation (Mimulus section Erythranthe). PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009095. [PMID: 33617525 PMCID: PMC7951852 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Inferences about past processes of adaptation and speciation require a gene-scale and genome-wide understanding of the evolutionary history of diverging taxa. In this study, we use genome-wide capture of nuclear gene sequences, plus skimming of organellar sequences, to investigate the phylogenomics of monkeyflowers in Mimulus section Erythranthe (27 accessions from seven species). Taxa within Erythranthe, particularly the parapatric and putatively sister species M. lewisii (bee-pollinated) and M. cardinalis (hummingbird-pollinated), have been a model system for investigating the ecological genetics of speciation and adaptation for over five decades. Across >8000 nuclear loci, multiple methods resolve a predominant species tree in which M. cardinalis groups with other hummingbird-pollinated taxa (37% of gene trees), rather than being sister to M. lewisii (32% of gene trees). We independently corroborate a single evolution of hummingbird pollination syndrome in Erythranthe by demonstrating functional redundancy in genetic complementation tests of floral traits in hybrids; together, these analyses overturn a textbook case of pollination-syndrome convergence. Strong asymmetries in allele sharing (Patterson's D-statistic and related tests) indicate that gene tree discordance reflects ancient and recent introgression rather than incomplete lineage sorting. Consistent with abundant introgression blurring the history of divergence, low-recombination and adaptation-associated regions support the new species tree, while high-recombination regions generate phylogenetic evidence for sister status for M. lewisii and M. cardinalis. Population-level sampling of core taxa also revealed two instances of chloroplast capture, with Sierran M. lewisii and Southern Californian M. parishii each carrying organelle genomes nested within respective sympatric M. cardinalis clades. A recent organellar transfer from M. cardinalis, an outcrosser where selfish cytonuclear dynamics are more likely, may account for the unexpected cytoplasmic male sterility effects of selfer M. parishii organelles in hybrids with M. lewisii. Overall, our phylogenomic results reveal extensive reticulation throughout the evolutionary history of a classic monkeyflower radiation, suggesting that natural selection (re-)assembles and maintains species-diagnostic traits and barriers in the face of gene flow. Our findings further underline the challenges, even in reproductively isolated species, in distinguishing re-use of adaptive alleles from true convergence and emphasize the value of a phylogenomic framework for reconstructing the evolutionary genetics of adaptation and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C. Nelson
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Angela M. Stathos
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Daniel D. Vanderpool
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Findley R. Finseth
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Yao-wu Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Lila Fishman
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
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Fitch G, Vandermeer JH. Light availability influences the intensity of nectar robbery and its effects on reproduction in a tropical shrub via multiple pathways. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2020; 107:1635-1644. [PMID: 33190224 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The multiple exogenous pathways by which light availability affects plant reproduction (e.g., via influence on attraction of mutualists and antagonists) remain surprisingly understudied. The light environment experienced by a parent can also have transgenerational effects on offspring via these same pathways. METHODS We evaluated (a) the influence of light availability on floral traits in Odontonema cuspidatum, (b) the relative importance of the pathways by which light influences nectar robbery and reproductive output, and (c) the role of parental light environment in mediating these relationships. We conducted a reciprocal translocation experiment using clonally propagated ramets and field surveys of naturally occurring plants. RESULTS Light availability influenced multiple floral traits, including flower number and nectar volume, which in turn influenced nectar robbery. But nectar robbery was also directly influenced by light availability, due to light effects on nectar robber foraging behavior or neighborhood floral context. Parental light environment mediated the link between light availability and nectar robber attraction, suggesting local adaptation to low-light environments in floral visitor attraction. However, we found no transgenerational effect on reproduction. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that exogenous pathways by which light influences plants (particularly through effects on floral antagonists) can complicate the positive relationship between light availability and plant reproduction. Our results are among the first to document effects of light on floral antagonists and clonal transgenerational effects on flower visitor attraction traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon Fitch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA
| | - John H Vandermeer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA
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Arroyo MTK, Robles V, Tamburrino Í, Martínez-Harms J, Garreaud RD, Jara-Arancio P, Pliscoff P, Copier A, Arenas J, Keymer J, Castro K. Extreme Drought Affects Visitation and Seed Set in a Plant Species in the Central Chilean Andes Heavily Dependent on Hummingbird Pollination. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 9:E1553. [PMID: 33198222 PMCID: PMC7697181 DOI: 10.3390/plants9111553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Rising temperatures and increasing drought in Mediterranean-type climate areas are expected to affect plant-pollinator interactions, especially in plant species with specialised pollination. Central Chile experienced a mega drought between 2010 and 2020 which reached an extreme in the austral summer of 2019-2020. Based on intensive pollinator sampling and floral studies we show that the subalpine form of Mutisia subulata (Asteraceae) is a specialised hummingbird-pollinated species. In a two-year study which included the severest drought year, we quantified visitation frequency, flower-head density, flower-head visitation rates, two measures of floral longevity, nectar characteristics and seed set and monitored climatic variables to detect direct and indirect climate-related effects on pollinator visitation. Flower-head density, nectar standing crop and seed set were significantly reduced in the severest drought year while nectar concentration increased. The best model to explain visitation frequency included flower-head density, relative humidity, temperature, and nectar standing crop with highly significant effects of the first three variables. Results for flower-head density suggest hummingbirds were able to associate visual signals with reduced resource availability and/or were less abundant. The negative effect of lower relative humidity suggests the birds were able to perceive differences in nectar concentration. Reduced seed set per flower-head together with the availability of far fewer ovules in the 2019-2020 austral summer would have resulted in a major reduction in seed set. Longer and more intense droughts in this century could threaten local population persistence in M. subulata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary T. K. Arroyo
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile;
| | - Valeria Robles
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile;
| | - Ítalo Tamburrino
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile;
| | - Jaime Martínez-Harms
- INIA, La Cruz, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Chorrillos 86, 2280454 La Cruz, Chile;
| | - René D. Garreaud
- Departamento de Geofísica, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Blanco Encalada 2002, 8370449 Santiago, Chile;
- Centro de Ciencia del Clima y la Resiliencia (CR2), Avenida Blanco Encalada 2002, Universidad de Chile, 8370449 Santiago, Chile
| | - Paola Jara-Arancio
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile;
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Republica 252, 8370134 Santiago, Chile
| | - Patricio Pliscoff
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, 8331150 Santiago, Chile;
- Instituto de Geografía, Facultad de Historia, Geografía y Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ana Copier
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
| | - Jonás Arenas
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
| | - Joaquín Keymer
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
| | - Kiara Castro
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, 7800003 Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; (V.R.); (Í.T.); (A.C.); (J.A.); (J.K.); (K.C.)
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15
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Coimbra G, Araujo C, Bergamo PJ, Freitas L, Rodríguez-Gironés MA. Flower Conspicuousness to Bees Across Pollination Systems: A Generalized Test of the Bee-Avoidance Hypothesis. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:558684. [PMID: 33072143 PMCID: PMC7542005 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.558684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Flower signals of bee- and bird-pollinated plants have converged via pollinator-mediated evolution, driven by the visual system of their respective pollinators. For bird flowers, sensory exclusion of less effective bees is also important and such exclusion is also mediated by floral morphological filters. Likewise, other systems based on pollination by red-sensitive insects are also associated with red flowers displaying lower short-wavelength secondary peaks of reflectance, which decreases detectability to animals that are less sensitive to red, such as bees. These flowers often also present long tubes. Here, we tested a generalization of the bee-avoidance hypothesis in order to assess if it holds only for bird flowers or for other non-bee pollination systems as well. For this, we compared flower contrasts and spectral purity in bee visual systems as proxies for conspicuousness among four kinds of pollination systems: bee-visited flowers, insect-visited flowers (including bees and other insects), non-bee insect flowers (flowers visited by red-sensitive insects such as flies, butterflies and beetles, but not bees), and bird-visited flowers. We also assessed the association between conspicuousness to bees and flower depth, used as a proxy for morphological exclusion of bees. Overall, flower conspicuousness to bees differed only between insect (all three groups) and bird flowers, due to lower visual signals for the latter. This suggests that bee sensory exclusion via color signals is exclusive to bird flowers, while non-bee insect flowers might use other sensory channels to exclude bees, such as olfactory signals. Visual bee avoidance might be a mechanism exclusive to plants pollinated by specific guilds of red-sensitive insects not well represented in our sample. We also found a negative association between flower conspicuousness to bees and flower depth, suggesting an interplay of morphological and spectral traits in discouraging bee visits. Our results support the bee-avoidance hypothesis exclusively for bird flowers and an overall association between lower visual signals to bees and long tubes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Coimbra
- Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Gabriel Coimbra,
| | - Carina Araujo
- Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Bergamo PJ, Wolowski M, Telles FJ, De Brito VLG, Varassin IG, Sazima M. Bracts and long-tube flowers of hummingbird-pollinated plants are conspicuous to hummingbirds but not to bees. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Joaquim Bergamo
- Plant Biology Department, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Marina Wolowski
- Institute of Natural Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil
| | - Francismeire Jane Telles
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation of Natural Resources, Federal University of Uberlândia, campus Umuarama, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Isabela Galarda Varassin
- Laboratório de Interações e Biologia Reprodutiva, Botany Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Marlies Sazima
- Plant Biology Department, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
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17
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Wang TN, Clifford MR, Martínez-Gómez J, Johnson JC, Riffell JA, Di Stilio VS. Scent matters: differential contribution of scent to insect response in flowers with insect vs. wind pollination traits. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2019; 123:289-301. [PMID: 30052759 PMCID: PMC6344221 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Growing experimental evidence that floral scent is a key contributor to pollinator attraction supports its investigation as a component of the suite of floral traits that result from pollinator-mediated selection. Yet, the fate of floral scent during the transition out of biotic into abiotic pollination has rarely been tested. In the case of wind pollination, this is due not only to its rarer incidence among flowering plants compared with insect pollination, but also to the scarcity of systems amenable to genus-level comparisons. Thalictrum (Ranunculaceae), with its multiple transitions from insect to wind pollination, offers a unique opportunity to test interspecific changes in floral fragrance and their potential impact on pollinator attraction. METHODS First, the Thalictrum phylogeny was revised and the ancestral character state of pollination mode was reconstructed. Then, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that comprise the scent bouquets of flowers from 11 phylogenetically representative wind- and insect-pollinated species were characterized and compared. Finally, to test the hypothesis that scent from insect-pollinated flowers elicits a significantly greater response from potential pollinators than that from wind-pollinated flowers, electroantennograms (EAGs) were performed on Bombus impatiens using whole flower extracts. KEY RESULTS Phylogenetic reconstruction of the pollination mode recovered 8-10 transitions to wind pollination from an ancestral insect pollination state and two reversals to insect pollination. Biochemical and multivariate analysis showed that compounds are distinct by species and only partially segregate with pollination mode, with no significant phylogenetic signal on scent composition. Floral VOCs from insect-pollinated Thalictrum elicited a larger antennal response from potential insect pollinators than those from wind-pollinated congeners. CONCLUSIONS An evolutionary scenario is proposed where an ancestral ability of floral fragrance to elicit an insect response through the presence of specific compounds was independently lost during the multiple evolutionary transitions to wind pollination in Thalictrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa N Wang
- University of Washington, Department of Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Marie R Clifford
- University of Washington, Department of Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jesús Martínez-Gómez
- University of Washington, Department of Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology and University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jens C Johnson
- University of Washington, Department of Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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18
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“Pro-bird” floral traits discourage bumblebee visits to Penstemon gentianoides (Plantaginaceae), a mixed-pollinated herb. Naturwissenschaften 2018; 106:1. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1595-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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19
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Tan MK, Goh FN, Tan HTW. Consistent Between-Individual Differences in Foraging Performance in a Floriphilic Katydid in Response to Different Choices. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 47:918-926. [PMID: 29878088 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The neural constraint hypothesis is one of the central ideas for the understanding of insect-plant interaction but there are still knowledge gaps in the data for foraging behavior and the performance of herbivores, and particularly florivores. We used a floriphilic katydid, Phaneroptera brevis (Serville, 1838) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) and a naturalized weed, Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) in caged experiments in an insectary to answer these questions: 1) How does the foraging performance of the floriphilic katydid vary when exposed to a choice in the number of capitula and types of florets of B. pilosa? 2) Does the foraging performance of the katydid, when exposed to multiple choices, improve with time, and are between-individual differences in foraging performance consistent? We observed that having more choices in the floret types and number of capitula is generally associated with a reduced foraging performance of the katydids. Floret types and number of capitula, however, did not have an interactive effect on foraging performance. We also found that the differences in foraging performance in response to choice tend to be consistent between katydids but each katydid became more efficient and decisive over time. That learning and experience can improve the foraging performance of the katydid has provided us with some insights as to how a continuum of efficient and inefficient katydids can be maintained in a population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Kai Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Fang Ni Goh
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Hugh Tiang Wah Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
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20
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Missagia CCC, Alves MAS. Does beak size predict the pollination performance of hummingbirds at long and tubular flowers? A case study of a Neotropical spiral ginger. J Zool (1987) 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caio C. C. Missagia
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - Maria Alice S. Alves
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro RJBrazil
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21
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Telles FJ, Corcobado G, Trillo A, Rodríguez-Gironés MA. Multimodal cues provide redundant information for bumblebees when the stimulus is visually salient, but facilitate red target detection in a naturalistic background. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0184760. [PMID: 28898287 PMCID: PMC5595325 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of how floral visitors integrate visual and olfactory cues when seeking food, and how background complexity affects flower detection is limited. Here, we aimed to understand the use of visual and olfactory information for bumblebees (Bombus terrestris terrestris L.) when seeking flowers in a visually complex background. To explore this issue, we first evaluated the effect of flower colour (red and blue), size (8, 16 and 32 mm), scent (presence or absence) and the amount of training on the foraging strategy of bumblebees (accuracy, search time and flight behaviour), considering the visual complexity of our background, to later explore whether experienced bumblebees, previously trained in the presence of scent, can recall and make use of odour information when foraging in the presence of novel visual stimuli carrying a familiar scent. Of all the variables analysed, flower colour had the strongest effect on the foraging strategy. Bumblebees searching for blue flowers were more accurate, flew faster, followed more direct paths between flowers and needed less time to find them, than bumblebees searching for red flowers. In turn, training and the presence of odour helped bees to find inconspicuous (red) flowers. When bees foraged on red flowers, search time increased with flower size; but search time was independent of flower size when bees foraged on blue flowers. Previous experience with floral scent enhances the capacity of detection of a novel colour carrying a familiar scent, probably by elemental association influencing attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francismeire Jane Telles
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Almería, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Alejandro Trillo
- Department of Integrative Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Miguel A. Rodríguez-Gironés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Almería, Spain
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22
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Resource partitioning by color in a tropical hummingbird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2358-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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23
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Krauss SL, Phillips RD, Karron JD, Johnson SD, Roberts DG, Hopper SD. Novel Consequences of Bird Pollination for Plant Mating. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 22:395-410. [PMID: 28412035 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2017.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Revised: 02/12/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Pollinator behaviour has profound effects on plant mating. Pollinators are predicted to minimise energetic costs during foraging bouts by moving between nearby flowers. However, a review of plant mating system studies reveals a mismatch between behavioural predictions and pollen-mediated gene dispersal in bird-pollinated plants. Paternal diversity of these plants is twice that of plants pollinated solely by insects. Comparison with the behaviour of other pollinator groups suggests that birds promote pollen dispersal through a combination of high mobility, limited grooming, and intra- and interspecies aggression. Future opportunities to test these predictions include seed paternity assignment following pollinator exclusion experiments, single pollen grain genotyping, new tracking technologies for small pollinators, and motion-triggered cameras and ethological experimentation for quantifying pollinator behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siegfried L Krauss
- Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, WA 6005, Australia; School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Ryan D Phillips
- Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, WA 6005, Australia; School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Jeffrey D Karron
- Department of Biological Sciences, PO Box 413, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - Steven D Johnson
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
| | - David G Roberts
- Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, WA 6005, Australia; Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management and School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Terrace, Albany, WA 6330, Australia
| | - Stephen D Hopper
- Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management and School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Terrace, Albany, WA 6330, Australia
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Foliage affects colour preference in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens): a test in a three-dimensional artificial environment. Evol Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-017-9893-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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