Mechanisms of pollen deposition by insect pollinators

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Morris ◽  
Marc Mangel ◽  
Frederick R. Adler
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Insect Pollinators

Floral biology of Hemigenia and Microcorys (Lamiaceae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Guerin
Keyword(s):  
Connective Tissue ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Floral Morphology ◽  
Corolla Tube ◽  
Floral Biology ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Bird Pollination ◽  
Insect Pollinators

The floral morphology and pollination of Hemigenia R.Br. and Microcorys R.Br. (Lamiaceae) were examined in the field and laboratory. The protandrous flowers have tubular, two-lipped corollas. Nine floral morphotypes are described. The stamens may be completely sterile (staminodal) or have one theca reduced or absent. The anthers typically have elongated connective tissue and are mobile on the filament. When the lower end of the anther is pushed, the upper end is levered towards the mouth of the corolla tube, hence dusting the pollinator precisely where receptive stigmas will later touch. Bearding on the anthers of the adaxial stamens catches adjacent anthers so that they lever in unison. Staminodes guide insect pollinators into the throat to allow precise pollen dusting. Detailed field observations show that bees and flies are the principle pollinators of most species. Floral morphologies are related to pollinator castes, and reproductive isolation and efficiency is enhanced by precise pollen deposition. Bird pollination is likely to have arisen independently in several taxa. The floral arrangement of these taxa is superficially similar but the syndrome is achieved through different anatomy.

Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 723-729
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Jim Hanan ◽  
Alan Dorin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Food Security ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

GYMNOSPERMS, ANGIOSPERMS AND INSECT POLLINATORS TRANSITING THE ALBIAN-APTIAN GAP

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad C. Labandeira ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pollinators

scholarly journals The role of insect pollinators in avocado production: A global review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keira Dymond ◽  
Juan L. Celis‐Diez ◽  
Simon G. Potts ◽  
Brad G. Howlett ◽  
Bryony K. Willcox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pollinators

scholarly journals Linking modern pollen accumulation rates to biomass: Quantitative vegetation reconstruction in the western Klamath Mountains, NW California, USA

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362098803
Author(s):  
Clarke A Knight ◽  
Mark Baskaran ◽  
M Jane Bunting ◽  
Marie Champagne ◽  
Matthew D Potts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Klamath Mountains ◽  
Plant Abundance ◽  
Circular Area ◽  
Value Analysis ◽  
Pollen Accumulation Rates

Quantitative reconstructions of vegetation abundance from sediment-derived pollen systems provide unique insights into past ecological conditions. Recently, the use of pollen accumulation rates (PAR, grains cm−2 year−1) has shown promise as a bioproxy for plant abundance. However, successfully reconstructing region-specific vegetation dynamics using PAR requires that accurate assessments of pollen deposition processes be quantitatively linked to spatially-explicit measures of plant abundance. Our study addressed these methodological challenges. Modern PAR and vegetation data were obtained from seven lakes in the western Klamath Mountains, California. To determine how to best calibrate our PAR-biomass model, we first calculated the spatial area of vegetation where vegetation composition and patterning is recorded by changes in the pollen signal using two metrics. These metrics were an assemblage-level relevant source area of pollen (aRSAP) derived from extended R-value analysis ( sensu Sugita, 1993) and a taxon-specific relevant source area of pollen (tRSAP) derived from PAR regression ( sensu Jackson, 1990). To the best of our knowledge, aRSAP and tRSAP have not been directly compared. We found that the tRSAP estimated a smaller area for some taxa (e.g. a circular area with a 225 m radius for Pinus) than the aRSAP (a circular area with a 625 m radius). We fit linear models to relate PAR values from modern lake sediments with empirical, distance-weighted estimates of aboveground live biomass (AGLdw) for both the aRSAP and tRSAP distances. In both cases, we found that the PARs of major tree taxa – Pseudotsuga, Pinus, Notholithocarpus, and TCT (Taxodiaceae, Cupressaceae, and Taxaceae families) – were statistically significant and reasonably precise estimators of contemporary AGLdw. However, predictions weighted by the distance defined by aRSAP tended to be more precise. The relative root-mean squared error for the aRSAP biomass estimates was 9% compared to 12% for tRSAP. Our results demonstrate that calibrated PAR-biomass relationships provide a robust method to infer changes in past plant biomass.

Flower cold hardiness: a potential determinant of the flowering sequence exhibited by bog ericads

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 997-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Reader
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Vaccinium Macrocarpon ◽  
Southern Ontario ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Cold Hardy ◽  
Vaccinium Myrtilloides ◽  
Potential Determinant ◽  
Ledum Groenlandicum

In laboratory freezing trials, cold hardiness of six types of bog ericad flowers differed significantly (i.e., Chamaedaphne calyculata > Andromeda glaucophylla > Kalmia polifolia > Vaccinium myrtilloides > Ledum groenlandicum > Vaccinium macrocarpon) at air temperatures between −4 and −10 °C but not at temperatures above −2 °C. At the Luther Marsh bog in southern Ontario, low temperatures (−3 to −7 °C) would select against May flowering by the least cold hardy ericads. Availability of pollinators, on the other hand, would encourage May flowering by the most cold hardy species. Presumably, competition for insect pollinators has promoted the diversification of bog ericad flowering peaks, while air temperature, in conjunction with flower cold hardiness, determined the order in which flowering peaks were reached.

scholarly journals INSECT POLLINATORS OF THREE RARE PLANTS IN A FLORIDA LONGLEAF PINE FOREST

2002 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa L. Pitts-Singer ◽  
James L. Hanula ◽  
Joan L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Insect Pollinators

scholarly journals Geographical matching of volatile signals and pollinator olfactory responses in a cycad brood-site mutualism

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20152053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence N. Suinyuy ◽  
John S. Donaldson ◽  
Steven D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Choice Experiments ◽  
Local Region ◽  
The Other ◽  
Beetle Species ◽  
Olfactory Preference ◽  
Olfactory Responses ◽  
Volatile Emissions ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Almost All

Brood-site mutualisms represent extreme levels of reciprocal specialization between plants and insect pollinators, raising questions about whether these mutualisms are mediated by volatile signals and whether these signals and insect responses to them covary geographically in a manner expected from coevolution. Cycads are an ancient plant lineage in which almost all extant species are pollinated through brood-site mutualisms with insects. We investigated whether volatile emissions and insect olfactory responses are matched across the distribution range of the African cycad Encephalartos villosus . This cycad species is pollinated by the same beetle species across its distribution, but cone volatile emissions are dominated by alkenes in northern populations, and by monoterpenes and a pyrazine compound in southern populations. In reciprocal choice experiments, insects chose the scent of cones from the local region over that of cones from the other region. Antennae of beetles from northern populations responded mainly to alkenes, while those of beetles from southern populations responded mainly to pyrazine. In bioassay experiments, beetles were most strongly attracted to alkenes in northern populations and to the pyrazine compound in southern populations. Geographical matching of cone volatiles and pollinator olfactory preference is consistent with coevolution in this specialized mutualism.

scholarly journals Balancing Bees and Livestock: Pastoralist Knowledge, Perceptions and Implications for Pollinator Conservation in Rangelands, Northern Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 194008292110281
Author(s):  
Faith Thomas Mpondo ◽  
Patrick A. Ndakidemi ◽  
Anna C. Treydte
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Livelihood Diversification ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
And Function ◽  
Rangeland Health

Insect pollinators provide numerous ecosystem services that support other living organisms. While pollinators play a large role in cropping systems, little is known about their presence and function in rangeland ecosystems, which have recently become fragmented and overexploited at an extraordinary rate. We assessed local Maasai knowledge on insect pollinators and how pollinators affect livelihood diversification in Simanjiro rangelands, Tanzania. Through questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations, we found varied insect knowledge among Maasai herders. Lasioglossum of sub genus Ipomalictus and Syriphidae were the least commonly recognized pollinators as only 24%, and 7% of participants could identify them, respectively. Responses varied significantly between men and women (F = 7.397, p = .007). Commiphora africana, Acacia mellifera and Albizia anthelmintica were noted as most important bee forage plants while observations showed Aspilia mossambicensis, Justicia debile and Acacia tortilis. Most (77%) of Maasai herders showed limited ability to link pollinators and rangeland wellbeing. Beekeeping contributed to livelihood diversification for 61% of respondents, with women participating more frequently than men (χ2 = 46.962, p = .0001). Beekeeping was positively influenced by education level ( R = .421, p < .0001) and occupation ( R = .194, p = .009). Pollinator declines were attributed to climate change (47%), agriculture (37%), and habitat destruction (8%). We conclude that Maasai have limited knowledge of common pollinator groups and their roles. Community outreach and training should bridge the knowledge gap in pastoralist communities to fully realize pollinator benefits and highlight the importance of rangeland health.

Value of Insect Pollinators to Himalayan Agricultural Economies

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Partap ◽  
T. Partap ◽  
H. K. Sharma ◽  
P. Phartiyal ◽  
A. Marma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Agricultural Economies
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