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Buonaiuto DM, Davies TJ, Collins SC, Wolkovich EM. Ecological drivers of flower-leaf sequences: aridity and proxies for pollinator attraction select for flowering-first in the American plums. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 38561636 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Across temperate forests, many tree species produce flowers before their leaves emerge. This flower-leaf phenological sequence, known as hysteranthy, is generally described as an adaptation for wind pollination. However, this explanation does not address why hysteranthy is also common in biotically pollinated taxa. We quantified flower-leaf sequence variation in the American plums (Prunus, subg. Prunus sect. Prunocerasus), a clade of insect-pollinated trees, using herbaria specimens and Bayesian hierarchical modeling. We tested two common, but rarely interrogated hypotheses - that hysteranthy confers aridity tolerance and/or pollinator visibility - by modeling the associations between hysteranthy and related traits. To understand how these phenology-trait associations were sensitive to taxonomic scale and flower-leaf sequence classification, we then extended these analyses to all Prunus species in North America. Our findings across two taxonomic levels support the hypotheses that hysteranthy may help temporally partition hydraulic demand to reduce water stress and increase pollinator visibility - thereby reducing selective pressure on inflorescence size. Our results provide foundational insights into the evolution of flower-leaf sequences in the genus Prunus, with implications for understanding these patterns in biotically pollinated plants in general. Our approach suggests a path to advance these hypotheses to other clades, but teasing out drivers fully will require new experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Buonaiuto
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
- Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02131, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - T J Davies
- Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - S C Collins
- Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - E M Wolkovich
- Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02131, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Chapman KM, Richardson FJ, Forster CY, Middleton EJT, White TE, Burke PF, Latty T. Artificial flowers as a tool for investigating multimodal flower choice in wild insects. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10687. [PMID: 38020672 PMCID: PMC10659823 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10687] [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: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Flowers come in a variety of colours, shapes, sizes and odours. Flowers also differ in the quality and quantity of nutritional reward they provide to entice potential pollinators to visit. Given this diversity, generalist flower-visiting insects face the considerable challenge of deciding which flowers to feed on and which to ignore. Working with real flowers poses logistical challenges due to correlations between flower traits, maintenance costs and uncontrolled variables. Here, we overcome this challenge by designing multimodal artificial flowers that varied in visual, olfactory and reward attributes. We used artificial flowers to investigate the impact of seven floral attributes (three visual cues, two olfactory cues and two rewarding attributes) on flower visitation and species richness. We investigated how flower attributes influenced two phases of the decision-making process: the decision to land on a flower, and the decision to feed on a flower. Artificial flowers attracted 890 individual insects representing 15 morphospecies spanning seven arthropod orders. Honeybees were the most common visitors accounting for 46% of visitors. Higher visitation rates were driven by the presence of nectar, the presence of linalool, flower shape and flower colour and was negatively impacted by the presence of citral. Species richness was driven by the presence of nectar, the presence of linalool and flower colour. For hymenopterans, the probability of landing on the artificial flowers was influenced by the presence of nectar or pollen, shape and the presence of citral and/or linalool. The probability of feeding increased when flowers contained nectar. For dipterans, the probability of landing on artificial flowers increased when the flower was yellow and contained linalool. The probability of feeding increased when flowers contained pollen, nectar and linalool. Our results demonstrate the multi-attribute nature of flower preferences and highlight the usefulness of artificial flowers as tools for studying flower visitation in wild insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M. Chapman
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Freya J. Richardson
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Institute of AgricultureThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Caitlyn Y. Forster
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Eliza J. T. Middleton
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Thomas E. White
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Paul F. Burke
- UTS Business School and Centre for Business Intelligence and Data AnalyticsUniversity of Technology SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Tanya Latty
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Institute of AgricultureThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
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Pontes CADS, Domingos-Melo A, Milet-Pinheiro P, Navarro DMDAF, Lima Nadia T, Machado IC. Staminode of Jacaranda rugosa A.H. Gentry (Bignoniaceae) promotes functional specialization by ensuring signaling and mechanical fit to medium-sized bees. ORG DIVERS EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-022-00558-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Finnell LM, Koski MH. A test of Sensory Drive in plant-pollinator interactions: heterogeneity in the signalling environment shapes pollinator preference for a floral visual signal. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:1436-1448. [PMID: 34287921 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Sensory Drive predicts that habitat-dependent signal transmission and perception explain the diversification of communication signals. Whether Sensory Drive shapes floral evolution remains untested in nature. Pollinators of Argentina anserina prefer small ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing floral guides at low elevation but larger guides at high. However, mechanisms underlying differential preference are unclear. High elevation populations experience elevated UV irradiance and frequently flower against bare substrates rather than foliage, potentially impacting signal transmission and perception. At high and low elevation extremes, we experimentally tested the effects of UV light (ambient vs reduced) and floral backgrounds (foliage vs bare) on pollinator choice for UV guide size. We examined how different signalling environments shaped pollinator-perceived flower colour using visual system models. At high elevation, pollinators preferred locally common large UV guides under ambient UV, but lacked preference under reduced UV. Flies preferred large guides only against bare substrate, the common high elevation background. Ambient UV amplified contrast of large UV guides with floral backgrounds, and flowers contrasted more with bare ground than foliage. Results support that local signalling conditions contribute to pollinator preference for a floral visual signal, a key tenet of Sensory Drive. Components of Sensory Drive could shape floral signal evolution in other plants spanning heterogeneous signalling environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay M Finnell
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Matthew H Koski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
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Chen Z, Niu Y, Liu CQ, Sun H. Red flowers differ in shades between pollination systems and across continents. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2020; 126:837-848. [PMID: 32478385 PMCID: PMC7539362 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Floral colour is a primary signal in plant-pollinator interactions. The association between red flowers and bird pollination is well known, explained by the 'bee avoidance' and 'bird attraction' hypotheses. Nevertheless, the relative importance of these two hypotheses has rarely been investigated on a large scale, even in terms of colour perception per se. METHODS We collected reflectance spectra for 130 red flower species from different continents and ascertained their pollination systems. The spectra were analysed using colour vision models for bees and (three types of) birds, to estimate colour perception by these pollinators. The differences in colour conspicuousness (chromatic and achromatic contrast, purity) and in spectral properties between pollination systems and across continents were analysed. KEY RESULTS Compared with other floral colours, red flowers are very conspicuous to birds and much less conspicuous to bees. The red flowers pollinated by bees and by birds are more conspicuous to their respective pollinators. Compared with the bird flowers in the Old World, the New World ones are less conspicuous to bees and may be more conspicuous not only to violet-sensitive but also to ultraviolet-sensitive birds. These differences can be explained by the different properties of the secondary reflectance peak (SP). SP intensity is higher in red flowers pollinated by bees than those pollinated by birds (especially New World bird flowers). A transition from high SP to low SP in red flowers can induce chromatic contrast changes, with a greater effect on reducing attraction to bees than enhancing attraction to birds. CONCLUSIONS Shades of red flowers differ between pollination systems. Moreover, red bird flowers are more specialized in the New World than in the Old World. The evolution towards colour specialization is more likely to result in higher efficiency of bee avoidance than bird attraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Niu
- CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Chang-Qiu Liu
- Center for Gardens and Horticultural Studies, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, Guangxi, China
| | - Hang Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Koski MH. The role of sensory drive in floral evolution. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 227:1012-1024. [PMID: 32112572 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Sensory drive theory posits that the evolution of communication signals is shaped by the sensory systems of receivers and the habitat conditions under which signals are received. It has inspired an enormous body of research, advancing our understanding of signal evolution and speciation in animals. In plants, the extreme diversification of floral signals has fascinated biologists for over a century. While processes involved in sensory drive probably play out in plant-pollinator communication, the theory has not been formally synthesized in this context. However, it has untapped potential to explain mechanisms underlying variation in pollinator preferences across populations, and how environmental conditions impact floral signal transmission and perception. Here I develop a framework of sensory drive for plant-pollinator interactions, identifying similarities and differences from its original conception. I then summarize studies that shed light on how the primary processes of sensory drive - habitat transmission, perceptual tuning, and signal matching - apply to the evolution of floral color and scent. Throughout, I propose research avenues and approaches to assess how sensory drive shapes floral diversity. This framework will be important for explaining patterns of extant floral diversity and examining how altered signaling conditions under global change will impact the evolutionary trajectory of floral traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew H Koski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29631, USA
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Kemp JE, Ellis AG. Cryptic petal coloration decreases floral apparency and herbivory in nocturnally closing daisies. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jurene E. Kemp
- Botany and Zoology Department Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Allan G. Ellis
- Botany and Zoology Department Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
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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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“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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Gálvez D, Añino Y, De la O JM. Age variation in the body coloration of the orb-weaver spider Alpaida tuonabo and its implications on foraging. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3599. [PMID: 29483535 PMCID: PMC5827658 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21971-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Spiders show a repertoire of strategies to increase their foraging success. In particular, some orb-weaver spiders use attractive body colorations to lure prey. Interestingly, coloration varies with age in many species, which may result in ontogenetic variation of foraging success. By using field observations, laboratory experiments and spectrophotometric analysis, we investigated whether pale juveniles and bright adults of the orb-weaver Alpaida tuonabo use different foraging strategies due to ontogenetic variation in coloration. Field observations revealed that foraging success of juveniles and adults was influenced by web properties. However, foraging success increased with body size only in adults, supporting the idea that larger individuals produce a stronger visual signal for prey. The attractiveness of the adult coloration for prey was confirmed in the laboratory with frame-web-choice experiments, in which webs bearing a spider intercepted more bees than empty webs. Our spectrophotometric analysis suggests that the yellow coloration may produce the deceiving signal for prey. Moreover, we identified potential alternative foraging strategies: cryptic juveniles at higher heights and 'attractive' adults at lower heights. This study reveals how ontogenetic colour variation may favour the use of alternative foraging strategies in orb-weaver spiders and reduces intraspecific competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dumas Gálvez
- INDICASAT AIP Building 219, City of Knowledge, Clayton, Panama, POBox 0843-01103, Ciudad del Saber, Panama. .,Programa Centroamericano de Maestría en Entomología, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de Panamá, Avenida Simón Bolívar, 0824, Panama. .,Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Senacyt, Panama.
| | - Yostin Añino
- Museo de Invertebrados G. B. Fairchild, Universidad de Panamá, Balboa, Panama
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