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Hung KLJ, Kingston JM, Albrecht M, Holway DA, Kohn JR. The worldwide importance of honey bees as pollinators in natural habitats. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172140. [PMID: 29321298 PMCID: PMC5784195 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most frequent floral visitor of crops worldwide, but quantitative knowledge of its role as a pollinator outside of managed habitats is largely lacking. Here we use a global dataset of 80 published plant-pollinator interaction networks as well as pollinator effectiveness measures from 34 plant species to assess the importance of A. mellifera in natural habitats. Apis mellifera is the most frequent floral visitor in natural habitats worldwide, averaging 13% of floral visits across all networks (range 0-85%), with 5% of plant species recorded as being exclusively visited by A. mellifera For 33% of the networks and 49% of plant species, however, A. mellifera visitation was never observed, illustrating that many flowering plant taxa and assemblages remain dependent on non-A. mellifera visitors for pollination. Apis mellifera visitation was higher in warmer, less variable climates and on mainland rather than island sites, but did not differ between its native and introduced ranges. With respect to single-visit pollination effectiveness, A. mellifera did not differ from the average non-A. mellifera floral visitor, though it was generally less effective than the most effective non-A. mellifera visitor. Our results argue for a deeper understanding of how A. mellifera, and potential future changes in its range and abundance, shape the ecology, evolution, and conservation of plants, pollinators, and their interactions in natural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keng-Lou James Hung
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA
| | - Jennifer M Kingston
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA
| | - Matthias Albrecht
- Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH-8046, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - David A Holway
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA
| | - Joshua R Kohn
- Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA
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Yu WB, Liu ML, Wang H, Mill RR, Ree RH, Yang JB, Li DZ. Towards a comprehensive phylogeny of the large temperate genus Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae), with an emphasis on species from the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2015; 15:176. [PMID: 26159907 PMCID: PMC4498522 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-015-0547-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/10/2015] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Striking interspecific variations in floral traits of the large temperate genus Pedicularis have given rise to controversies concerning infra-generic classifications. To date, phylogenetic relationships within the genus have not been well resolved. The main goal of this study is to construct a backbone phylogeny of Pedicularis, with extensive sampling of species from the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains. Phylogenetic analyses included 257 species, representing all 13 informal groups and 104 out of 130 series in the classification system of Tsoong, using sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and three plastid regions (matK, rbcL and trnL-F). Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods were applied in separate and combined analyses of these datasets. RESULTS Thirteen major clades are resolved with strong support, although the backbone of the tree is poorly resolved. There is little consensus between the phylogenetic tree and Tsoong's classification of Pedicularis. Only two of the 13 groups (15.4 %), and 19 of the 56 series (33.9 %) with more than one sampled species were found to be strictly monophyletic. Most opposite-/whorled-leaved species fall into a single clade, i.e. clade 1, while alternate leaves species occur in the remaining 12 clades. Excluding the widespread P. verticillata in clade 1, species from Europe and North America fall into clades 6-8. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that combinations of morphological and geographic characters associated with strongly supported clades are needed to elucidate a comprehensive global phylogeny of Pedicularis. Alternate leaves are inferred to be plesiomorphic in Pedicularis, with multiple transitions to opposite/whorled phyllotaxy. Alternate-leaved species show high diversity in plant habit and floral forms. In the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, geographical barriers may have facilitated diversification of species with long corolla tubes, and the reproductive advantages of beakless galeas in opposite-/whorled-leaved species may boost speciation at high altitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Bin Yu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, PR China.
| | - Min-Lu Liu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
- Kunming College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
| | - Hong Wang
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
- Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
| | - Robert R Mill
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK.
| | - Richard H Ree
- Department of Botany, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA.
| | - Jun-Bo Yang
- Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
| | - De-Zhu Li
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
- Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
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