Visitation frequency of Melampyrum roseum var. japonicum (Scrophulariaceae) by three bumblebee species and its relation to pollination efficiency

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1167-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayako Hiei ◽  
Kazuo Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Bumblebee Species ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Pollination Effectiveness ◽  
Visitation Frequency ◽  
Pollen Removal

The efficiency of pollination of Melampyrum roseum Maximowicz var. japonicum Franchet et Savatier by three bumblebee species, Bombus consobrinus Vogt, Bombus diversus Smith, and Bombus honshuensis Tkalců, which differ especially in proboscis length, was examined under experimental conditions where visitation frequencies were controlled. First, we found that B. honshuensis, with the shortest proboscis, deposited the most pollen per stigma, resulting in the highest seed set in single visit experiments among the three bumblebee species, while B. diversus removed the most pollen from the anthers. The morphological match between pollinators and flowers was found to be an important factor affecting the per-visit pollination intensity mentioned above. Second, we found that seed set and pollen removal increased when flowers were visited twice by any of the three bumblebee species and that the differences among the three bumblebee species disappeared. When flowers were visited three or four times, the seed set and pollen removal did not increase further. These findings indicate that pollination effectiveness may differ among the bumblebee species only when flowers are infrequently visited by any of the bumblebee species.Key words: Melampyrum roseum, bumblebees, pollination efficiency, reproductive success, seed set, visitation frequency.

scholarly journals A meta-analysis of single visit pollination effectiveness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen L Page ◽  
Charlie C Nicholson ◽  
Ross Brennan ◽  
Anna Britzman ◽  
Jeremy Hemberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Crop Plants ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Pollination Effectiveness ◽  
Visitation Frequency ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Effective Pollinators ◽  
Effective Pollinator

Many animals provide essential ecosystem services in the form of plant pollination. A rich literature documents considerable variation in the single visit pollination effectiveness of different plant visitors, but this literature has yet to be comprehensively synthesized. We conducted a hierarchical meta-analysis of 193 studies and extracted 1716 single visit effectiveness (SVE) comparisons for 252 plant species. We paired SVE data with visitation frequency data for 75 of these studies. Given the global dominance of honeybees in pollinator communities, we used these data to ask: 1) Do honeybees (Apis mellifera) and other floral visitors vary in their SVE?; 2) To what extent do plant and pollinator attributes predict the difference in SVE between honeybees and other visitors?; and 3) Is there a correlation between floral visitation frequency and SVE? We found that honeybees were significantly less effective than the most effective non-honeybee pollinator. Although not significantly different, honeybees also tended to be less effective than the mean community effectiveness. Honeybees were less effective as pollinators of crop plants and when compared to birds and other bees. Visitation frequency and pollination effectiveness were positively correlated, but this trend was largely driven by data from communities where honeybees were absent, suggesting that honeybees generally combine high visitation frequency and lower SVE. Our study demonstrates that non-honeybee floral visitors are highly effective pollinators of many crop and non-crop plants. While the high visitation frequency typically displayed by honeybees undoubtably makes them important pollinators, we show that honeybees are slightly less effective than the average pollinator and rarely the most effective pollinator of the plants they visit. As such, honeybees may be imperfect substitutes for the loss of wild pollinators and safeguarding global crop production will benefit from conservation of non-honeybee taxa.

scholarly journals Comparative effects of pollen limitation, floral traits and pollinators on reproductive success of Hedysarum scoparium Fisch. et Mey. in different habitats

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Chen ◽  
Xue-Yong Zhao ◽  
Xiao-An Zuo ◽  
Shao-Kun Wang ◽  
Hao Qu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Pollinator Visitation ◽  
Open Flower ◽  
Visitation Frequency ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Background Reproduction in most flowering plants may be limited because of the decreased visitation or activity of pollinators in fragmented habitats. Hedysarum scoparium Fisch. et Mey. is an arid region shrub with ecological importance. We explored the pollen limitation and seed set of Hedysarum scoparium in fragmented and restored environments, and examined whether pollen limitation is a significant limiting factor for seed set. We also compared floral traits and pollinator visitation between both habitats, and we determined the difference of floral traits and pollinators influenced reproductive success in Hedysarum scoparium. Results Our results indicated that supplementation with pollen significantly increased seed set per flower, which is pollen-limited in this species. Furthermore, there was greater seed set of the hand cross-pollination group in the restored habitat compared to the fragmented environment. More visits by Apis mellifera were recorded in the restored habitats, which may explain the difference in seed production between the fragmented and restored habitats. Conclusions In this study, a positive association between pollinator visitation frequency and open flower number was observed. The findings of this study are important for experimentally quantifying the effects of floral traits and pollinators on plant reproductive success in different habitats.

scholarly journals Empidine dance flies pollinate the woodland geranium as effectively as bees

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 20190230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Lefebvre ◽  
Christophe Daugeron ◽  
Claire Villemant ◽  
Colin Fontaine
Keyword(s):  
Seed Set ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Subalpine Meadow ◽  
Pollination Effectiveness ◽  
Flower Visiting ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
Effective Pollinators ◽  
Dance Fly ◽  
High Diversity

Most flowering plants species rely on insects for pollination, a successful mutualism allowing them to reproduce over wide areas while flower-visitors are rewarded with food. This association is so conspicuous in the case of bees that other groups of potential pollinators, especially flies, have long been underestimated. However, visitors are not always pollinators. While the importance of flies in plant–visitor networks is now acknowledged, their pollination effectiveness has hardly been investigated. In this study, we assessed the pollination effectiveness of Geranium sylvaticum flower-visitors using single-visit seed set experiments, in a subalpine meadow where flies are predominant. We found that: (i) empidine dance flies were the most frequent visitors of G. sylvaticum ; (ii) a single-visit by an empidine dance fly produced the same average number of seeds as a visit by a bee; (iii) large pollinators were more efficient than small pollinators irrespective of their identity. As a conclusion, large empidines were the main pollinators of G. sylvaticum . Considering the high diversity and abundance of flower-visiting fly species, such results showing their ability to be as effective pollinators as bees should encourage further studies to develop a better understanding on their role in plant–pollinator networks.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Variations in Seed Set and Pollen Limitation in Populations of the Rare Generalist Species Polemonium caeruleum in Poland

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Ryniewicz ◽  
Katarzyna Roguz ◽  
Paweł Mirski ◽  
Emilia Brzosko ◽  
Mateusz Skłodowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Visitation Frequency ◽  
Average Monthly Precipitation

A vast majority of angiosperms are pollinated by animals, and a decline in the number and diversity of insects often affects plant reproduction through pollen limitation. This phenomenon may be particularly severe in rare plant species, whose populations are shrinking. Here, we examined the variability in factors shaping reproductive success and pollen limitation in red-listed Polemonium caeruleum L. During a 5-year study in several populations of P. caeruleum (7–15, depending on year), we assessed the degree of pollen limitation based on differences in seed set between open-pollinated (control) and hand-pollinated flowers. We analysed the effects of flower visitors, population size, and meteorological data on plant reproductive success and pollen limitation. Our study showed that pollen limitation rarely affected P. caeruleum populations, and was present mainly in small populations. Pollen limitation index was negatively affected by the size of population, visitation frequency of all insects, and when considering the visitation frequency of individual groups, also by honeybee visits. Seed production in control treatment was positively influenced by the population size, average monthly precipitation in June and visits of hoverflies, while visits of honeybees, average monthly temperature in September, and average monthly precipitation in August influenced seed production negatively. As generalist plant P. caeruleum can be pollinated by diverse insect groups, however, in small populations their main visitors, the honeybees and bumblebees, may be less attracted, eventually leading to the disappearance of these populations. In pollination of P. caeruleum managed honeybees may play a dual role: while they are the most frequent and efficient flower visitors, their presence decreases seed set in open-pollinated flowers, which is most probably related to efficient pollen collection by these insects.

Fragment size, pollination efficiency and reproductive success in natural populations of wind-pollinated Polylepis australis (Rosaceae) trees

Flora ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 202 (7) ◽  
pp. 547-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy Seltmann ◽  
Daniel Renison ◽  
Andrea Cocucci ◽  
Isabell Hensen ◽  
Klaus Jung
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fragment Size ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Polylepis Australis

The influence of floral morph ratios and low plant density on mating and fertility in a tristylous colonizing species

Botany ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 533-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Balogh ◽  
Spencer C.H. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Lythrum Salicaria ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Morph Ratios ◽  
Floral Morph

Sexual reproduction in heterostylous populations may be vulnerable to demographic conditions because of the small number of mating types in populations. Here, we investigate mating and fertility under natural and experimental conditions in tristylous Lythrum salicaria L., an invasive species that exhibits a wide range of floral morph ratios and demographic contexts. We grew 147 open-pollinated seed families from six populations with different morph structures to estimate intermorph mating (d). In a field experiment, we used progeny ratios from 47 spatially isolated individuals to estimate d, and measured the intensity of pollen limitation experienced by the morphs. The M- and S-morphs experienced high rates of d, regardless of population size or morph ratio. Estimates for the L-morph revealed low levels of intramorph mating in three dimorphic and two trimorphic populations, but near complete intramorph mating in a monomorphic population. Despite high levels of intermorph mating in the field experiment, the morphs experienced significant pollen limitation of fruit and seed set, but this did not differ in intensity among the morphs. Our field experiment demonstrates that although plant isolation was associated with pollen limitation of seed set, “long-distance” bee-mediated pollen flow served to maintain intermorph mating. Tristyly in L. salicaria is remarkably robust to the demographic variation associated with colonization.

A meta‐analysis of single visit pollination effectiveness comparing honeybees and other floral visitors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.L. Page ◽  
C.C. Nicholson ◽  
R.M. Brennan ◽  
A.T. Britzman ◽  
J. Greer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Pollination Effectiveness ◽  
Floral Visitors

scholarly journals Pollinator effectiveness of a specialist bee exploiting a generalist plant—tracking pollen transfer by Heriades truncorum with quantum dots

Apidologie ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Konzmann ◽  
Margareta Kluth ◽  
Deniz Karadana ◽  
Klaus Lunau
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Pollen Germination ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Pollen Transfer ◽  
Pollinator Effectiveness ◽  
Flower Constancy ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Heriades Truncorum ◽  
Open Control

AbstractHeriades truncorum (Megachilidae) is a specialist bee that forages on Asteraceae and collects pollen by tapping its abdomen on pollen-presenting florets which places the grains directly in the ventral scopa. We tracked pollen transfer by female H. truncorum between conspecific inflorescences of Inula ensifolia and Pulicaria dysenterica by labelling pollen with quantum dots. On average, bees transferred 31.14 (I. ensifolia) and 9.96 (P. dysenterica) pollen grains from the last visited inflorescence, 39% and 45% of which were placed on receptive styles. Pollen germination ratio is significantly lower for inflorescences of P. dysenterica visited by one H. truncorum (0.13%) compared with open control inflorescences (0.51%), which suggests that the bees mainly transfer self-pollen of these self-incompatible plants. Thus, a single visit by H. truncorum does not grant the plant high reproductive success, but the bees’ abundance and flower constancy might reduce this disadvantage.

scholarly journals Watermelon pollinators exhibit complementarity in both visitation rate and single-visit pollination efficiency

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Pisanty ◽  
Ohad Afik ◽  
Eric Wajnberg ◽  
Yael Mandelik
Keyword(s):  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Visitation Rate ◽  
Single Visit
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