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Ballarin CS, Fontúrbel FE, Rech AR, Oliveira PE, Goés GA, Polizello DS, Oliveira PH, Hachuy-Filho L, Amorim FW. How many animal-pollinated angiosperms are nectar-producing? THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:2008-2020. [PMID: 38952269 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19940] [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: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
The diversity of plant-pollinator interactions is grounded in floral resources, with nectar considered one of the main floral rewards plants produce for pollinators. However, a global evaluation of the number of animal-pollinated nectar-producing angiosperms and their distribution world-wide remains elusive. We compiled a thorough database encompassing 7621 plant species from 322 families to estimate the number and proportion of nectar-producing angiosperms reliant on animal pollination. Through extensive sampling of plant communities, we also explored the interplay between nectar production, floral resource diversity, latitudinal and elevational gradients, contemporary climate, and environmental characteristics. Roughly 223 308 animal-pollinated angiosperms are nectar-producing, accounting for 74.4% of biotic-pollinated species. Global distribution patterns of nectar-producing plants reveal a distinct trend along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, with increased proportions of plants producing nectar in high latitudes and altitudes. Conversely, tropical communities in warm and moist climates exhibit greater floral resource diversity and a lower proportion of nectar-producing plants. These findings suggest that ecological trends driven by climate have fostered the diversification of floral resources in warmer and less seasonal climates, reducing the proportion of solely nectar-producing plants. Our study provides a baseline for understanding plant-pollinator relationships, plant diversification, and the distribution of plant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio S Ballarin
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Vegetal, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
| | - Francisco E Fontúrbel
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad 330, Valparaíso, CEP 2373223, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus of Patagonian Limit of Life (LiLi), Valdivia, CEP 5090000, Chile
| | - André R Rech
- Programas de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Estudos Rurais e Ciências Florestais, Faculdade Interdisciplinar em Humanidades, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, MG, CEP 39100-000, Brazil
| | - Paulo E Oliveira
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, CEP 38405302, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Alcarás Goés
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Laboratório de Restauração Florestal - LERF, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, CEP 18610-034, Brazil
| | - Diego S Polizello
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, São Paulo, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
| | - Pablo H Oliveira
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, São Paulo, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
| | - Leandro Hachuy-Filho
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, São Paulo, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
| | - Felipe W Amorim
- Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização e Interações - LEPI, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Bioestatística, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Júlio de Mesquita Filho' (IBB - UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Vegetal, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, IBB - UNESP, Rua Prof. Dr Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, Botucatu, São Paulo, CEP 18618-689, Brazil
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Dai W, Ochola AC, Li Y. Spatio-Temporal Variations in Pollen Limitation and Floral Traits of an Alpine Lousewort ( Pedicularis rhinanthoides) in Relation to Pollinator Availability. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:78. [PMID: 36616207 PMCID: PMC9824556 DOI: 10.3390/plants12010078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Populations of the same plant species living in different locations but flowering at different times may vary in pollinator availability and floral traits. However, the spatial and temporal links between floral traits and pollination are rarely included in single studies. In this study, three populations of an alpine lousewort, Pedicularis rhinanthoides Schrenk subsp. tibetica (Bonati) Tsoong, were surveyed to detect the variations in floral traits and pollinator activity. We hypothesized that floral divergence was spatio-temporally correlated with pollen limitation (PL) in relation to pollinators. Sampled plants from each population were divided into three groups, according to flowering stage: early, peak, and late. Pollen-supplementation experiments and investigations into pollinators, reproductive success, and floral traits were conducted on the plants from the different flowering stages and across the populations. Our results showed that the extent of PL varies across populations and among flowering stages. Populations in which more pollinators were recorded displayed a lower extent of PL. Furthermore, the temporal differences in PL showed a similar pattern for the three populations; the plants from the peak flowering stage suffered slighter PL than those from the other two stages. Nevertheless, some of the floral traits displayed similar spatial and temporal patterns to the PL, while the others only varied among the populations spatially. The results indicated that the performance of floral traits in a particular spatial-temporal situation shows they are well adapted to the corresponding pollination environment, which might help plants to optimize their reproductive fitness under different abiotic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenkui Dai
- College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Anne Christine Ochola
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yongquan Li
- College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China
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Liu Q, Lu X, Zhang Q, Chen J, Zheng X, Zhang W, Liu X, Wang B. High niche diversity in Mesozoic pollinating lacewings. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3793. [PMID: 30224679 PMCID: PMC6141599 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06120-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Niche diversity of pollinating insects plays a vital role in maintaining extant terrestrial ecosystems. A key dimension of pollination niches refers to the insect proboscis length that commonly matches the floral tube length. Here we describe new kalligrammatid lacewings (an iconic Mesozoic pollinating insect lineage) from late Cretaceous Burmese amber and Mesozoic sediments in China. Kalligrammatids display complex configurations of elongate mouthpart elements consisting of well-developed maxillae, labium and their palps. The mouthpart lengths vary among species, from 0.6 to 18.0 mm, suggesting corresponding variability in the floral tube lengths of Mesozoic plants. With the diversification of pollinating habits, the kalligrammatids presented highly divergent traits related to chemical communication and defence mechanisms. Together with other Mesozoic long-proboscid insects, these fossils not only reveal the high niche diversity of Mesozoic pollinating insects but also highlight the diversity of Mesozoic pollinator-dependent plants prior to the rise of angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiumei Lu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Qingqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China
| | - Jun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, 276000, Linyi, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, 276000, Linyi, China
| | - Weiwei Zhang
- Three Gorges Entomological Museum, P.O. Box 4680, 400015, Chongqing, China
| | - Xingyue Liu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China.
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China.
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, 100101, Beijing, China.
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Roy R, Schmitt AJ, Thomas JB, Carter CJ. Review: Nectar biology: From molecules to ecosystems. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2017; 262:148-164. [PMID: 28716410 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2017.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Plants attract mutualistic animals by offering a reward of nectar. Specifically, floral nectar (FN) is produced to attract pollinators, whereas extrafloral nectar (EFN) mediates indirect defenses through the attraction of mutualist predatory insects to limit herbivory. Nearly 90% of all plant species, including 75% of domesticated crops, benefit from animal-mediated pollination, which is largely facilitated by FN. Moreover, EFN represents one of the few defense mechanisms for which stable effects on plant health and fitness have been demonstrated in multiple systems, and thus plays a crucial role in the resistance phenotype of plants producing it. In spite of its central role in plant-animal interactions, the molecular events involved in the development of both floral and extrafloral nectaries (the glands that produce nectar), as well as the synthesis and secretion of the nectar itself, have been poorly understood until recently. This review will cover major recent developments in the understanding of (1) nectar chemistry and its role in plant-mutualist interactions, (2) the structure and development of nectaries, (3) nectar production, and (4) its regulation by phytohormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Roy
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Anthony J Schmitt
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jason B Thomas
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Clay J Carter
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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Lin X, Shih MJH, Labandeira CC, Ren D. New data from the Middle Jurassic of China shed light on the phylogeny and origin of the proboscis in the Mesopsychidae (Insecta: Mecoptera). BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:1. [PMID: 26727998 PMCID: PMC4700641 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0575-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2015] [Accepted: 12/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Mesopsychidae is an extinct family of Mecoptera, comprising eleven described genera from Upper Permian to Lower Cretaceous deposits. In 2009, several well-preserved mesopsychids with long proboscides were reported from the mid Mesozoic of Northeastern China, suggesting the presence of pollination mutualisms with gymnosperm plants and highlighting their elevated genus-level diversity. Since that time, additional mesopsychid taxa have been described. However, the phylogeny of genera within Mesopsychidae has not been studied formally, attributable to the limited number of well-preserved fossils. RESULTS Here, we describe two new species, Lichnomesopsyche prochorista sp. nov. and Vitimopsyche pristina sp. nov. and revise the diagnosis of Lichnomesopsyche daohugouensis Ren, Labandeira and Shih, 2010, based on ten specimens from the latest Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. After compiling data from these new fossil species and previously reported representative taxa, we conducted phylogenetic analyses and geometric morphometric studies that now shed light on the taxonomy and phylogeny of Mesopsychidae. We also evaluate the recurring origin of the siphonate proboscis in the Mecoptera and propose an evolutionary developmental model for its multiple origins. CONCLUSIONS Phylogenetic and geometric morphometric results confirm the establishment of two new species, each to Lichnomesopsyche and Vitimopsyche. Vitimopsyche pristina sp. nov. extends the existence of the genus Vitimopsyche Novokshonov and Sukacheva, 2001, from the mid Lower Cretaceous to the latest Middle Jurassic. Two methods of analyses indicate an affiliation of Mesopsyche dobrokhotovae Novokshonov, 1997 with Permopsyche Bashkuev, 2011. A phylogenetic analysis of the Mesopsychidae supports: 1), Mesopsychidae as a monophyletic group; 2), Mesopsyche as a paraphyletic group, to be revised pending future examination of additional material; and 3), the independent origin of the proboscis in the Pseudopolycentropodidae, its subsequent loss in earliest Mesopsychidae such as Epicharmesopsyche, its re-origination in the common ancestor (or perhaps independently) in the Vitimopsyche and Lichnomesopsyche clades of the Mesopsychidae. The third conclusion indicates that the proboscis originated four or five times within early Mecoptera, whose origin is explained by an evolutionary developmental model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodan Lin
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | | | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. .,Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA. .,Department of Entomology and BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
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Peñalver E, Arillo A, Pérez-de la Fuente R, Riccio ML, Delclòs X, Barrón E, Grimaldi DA. Long-Proboscid Flies as Pollinators of Cretaceous Gymnosperms. Curr Biol 2015; 25:1917-23. [PMID: 26166781 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Revised: 04/25/2015] [Accepted: 05/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The great evolutionary success of angiosperms has traditionally been explained, in part, by the partnership of these plants with insect pollinators. The main approach to understanding the origins of this pervasive relationship has been study of the pollinators of living cycads, gnetaleans, and basal angiosperms. Among the most morphologically specialized living pollinators are diverse, long-proboscid flies. Early such flies include the brachyceran family Zhangsolvidae, previously known only as compression fossils from the Early Cretaceous of China and Brazil. It belongs to the infraorder Stratiomyomorpha, a group that includes the flower-visiting families Xylomyidae and Stratiomyidae. New zhangsolvid specimens in amber from Spain (ca. 105 mega-annum [Ma]) and Myanmar (100 Ma) reveal a detailed proboscis structure adapted to nectivory. Pollen clumped on a specimen from Spain is Exesipollenites, attributed to a Mesozoic gymnosperm, most likely the Bennettitales. Late Mesozoic scorpionflies with a long proboscis have been proposed as specialized pollinators of various extinct gymnosperms, but pollen has never been observed on or in their bodies. The new discovery is a very rare co-occurrence of pollen with its insect vector and provides substantiating evidence that other long-proboscid Mesozoic insects were gymnosperm pollinators. Evidence is thus now gathering that visitors and probable pollinators of early anthophytes, or seed plants, involved some insects with highly specialized morphological adaptations, which has consequences for interpreting the reproductive modes of Mesozoic gymnosperms and the significance of insect pollination in angiosperm success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Peñalver
- Museo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Madrid 28003, Spain.
| | - Antonio Arillo
- Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | | | - Mark L Riccio
- Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Xavier Delclòs
- Departament d'Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geociències Marines, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Eduardo Barrón
- Museo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Madrid 28003, Spain
| | - David A Grimaldi
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10021, USA
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Boulay JN, Hellberg ME, Cortés J, Baums IB. Unrecognized coral species diversity masks differences in functional ecology. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 281:20131580. [PMID: 24335977 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Porites corals are foundation species on Pacific reefs but a confused taxonomy hinders understanding of their ecosystem function and responses to climate change. Here, we show that what has been considered a single species in the eastern tropical Pacific, Porites lobata, includes a morphologically similar yet ecologically distinct species, Porites evermanni. While P. lobata reproduces mainly sexually, P. evermanni dominates in areas where triggerfish prey on bioeroding mussels living within the coral skeleton, thereby generating asexual coral fragments. These fragments proliferate in marginal habitat not colonized by P. lobata. The two Porites species also show a differential bleaching response despite hosting the same dominant symbiont subclade. Thus, hidden diversity within these reef-builders has until now obscured differences in trophic interactions, reproductive dynamics and bleaching susceptibility, indicative of differential responses when confronted with future climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer N Boulay
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, , 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, , 202 Life Sciences Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, , San Pedro, 11501-2060 San José, Costa Rica
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Abstract
Insects have evolved diverse methods of predator avoidance, many of which implicate complex adaptations of their wings (e.g., Phylliidae, Nymphalidae, Notodontidae). Among these, angiosperm leaf mimicry is one of the most dramatic, although the historical origins of such modifications are unclear owing to a dearth of paleontological records. Here, we report evidence of pinnate leaf mimesis in two lacewings (Neuroptera): Bellinympha filicifolia Y. Wang, Ren, Liu & Engel gen. et sp. nov. and Bellinympha dancei Y. Wang, Ren, Shih & Engel, sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic, representing a 165-million-year-old specialization between insects and contemporaneous gymnosperms of the Cycadales or Bennettitales. Furthermore, such lacewings demonstrate a preangiosperm origin for leaf mimesis, revealing a lost evolutionary scenario of interactions between insects and gymnosperms. The current fossil record suggests that this enigmatic lineage became extinct during the Early Cretaceous, apparently closely correlated with the decline of Cycadales and Bennettitales at that time, and perhaps owing to the changing floral environment resulted from the rise of flowering plants.
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