Flower mites and nectar production in six hummingbird-pollinated plants with contrasting flower longevities

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1216-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Lara ◽  
Juan Francisco Ornelas
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Nectar Volume ◽  
Hummingbird Pollination ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Floral Morph ◽  
Flower Mites ◽  
Nectar Robbers ◽  
Nectar Availability

Hummingbird flower mites and hummingbirds may compete intensely for the nectar secreted by their host plants. Here, we present the results from field experiments in which flower mites were excluded from flowers of six hummingbird-pollinated plants with contrasting flower longevities. Nectar measurements were taken on flowers from which mites were excluded and those without mite exclusion over their lifespans. The exclusion of mites had a significant positive effect on the amount of nectar available in plants with long-lived flowers. In contrast, nectar availability in short-lived flowers was not significantly reduced after mite exclusion. The significance of the mite-exclusion treatment was independent of floral morph and flower age. Results also suggest that the magnitude of the mite-exclusion treatment depends on the volume of nectar produced by the flower throughout its lifetime. The treatment effect was detected when nectar consumption, presumably by flower mites, exceeded 13% of the nectar produced by the flowers; nectar availability was not significantly reduced when nectar volume was < 7 µL per flower. It appears that flower mites consume proportionately more nectar in long-lived flowers than in short-lived flowers. Parasitic hummingbird flower mites seem to be preferentially taking advantage of plant-pollinator interactions in which flowers last several days and produce large volumes of nectar. The consequences of this finding concerning plant–hummingbird–mite interactions await further investigation. As a working hypothesis, we propose that nectar production has increased over evolutionary time not only by the selective pressures imposed by the pollinators, but also to compensate for the reduction they suffer after exploitation by nectar robbers and thieves such as flower mites.Key words: Ascidae, flower longevity, hummingbird pollination, multiple-species interactions, mutualism exploitation, nectar theft.

scholarly journals Flower mites decrease nectar availability in the rain-forest bromeliad Neoregelia johannis

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeu J. Guerra ◽  
Gustavo Q. Romero ◽  
Woodruff W. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Sugar Concentration ◽  
Production Rates ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Nectar Volume ◽  
Bombus Morio ◽  
Nectar Rewards ◽  
Flower Mites ◽  
Nectar Availability

Abstract:Nectarivorous flower mites can reduce the volume of nectar available to pollinators. The effects of the flower mite Proctolaelaps sp. on nectar availability in flowers of a melittophilous bromeliad Neoregelia johannis (Bromeliaceae) was evaluated in a coastal rain forest in south-eastern Brazil. In a randomized block experiment utilizing 18 flower pairs, one per bromeliad ramet, pollinators (Bombus morio) and mites were excluded, and then nectar volume, sugar concentration and sugar mass were quantified over the anthesis period. Mites significantly reduced nectar volume early in the morning (6h00–8h00), but not later (10h00–12h00). Mites decreased total volume of nectar available up to 22%. Sugar concentration in nectar was higher earlier in the morning, and decreased between 10h00–12h00. The pronounced consumption of nectar by mites during the period of higher sugar concentration reduced the total amount of sugar available to pollinators by 31%. This is the first study showing that flower mites decrease nectar rewards in a melittophilous plant. Because nectar volume by itself incompletely describes nectar production rates and the effects of nectar removal by flower mites on the availability of sugar, our study highlights the inclusion of sugar content in future studies assessing the effects of thieves on nectar production rates.

scholarly journals Genetic identity and genotype × genotype interactions between symbionts outweigh species level effects in an insect microbiome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie R. Smee ◽  
Sally A. Raines ◽  
Julia Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
Genetic Identity ◽  
Host Genotype ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Microbial Symbionts ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Multiple Species

AbstractMicrobial symbionts often alter the phenotype of their host. Benefits and costs to hosts depend on many factors, including host genotype, symbiont species and genotype, and environmental conditions. Here, we present a study demonstrating genotype-by-genotype (G×G) interactions between multiple species of endosymbionts harboured by an insect, and the first to quantify the relative importance of G×G interactions compared with species interactions in such systems. In the most extensive study to date, we microinjected all possible combinations of five Hamiltonella defensa and five Fukatsuia symbiotica (X-type; PAXS) isolates into the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. We applied several ecological challenges: a parasitoid wasp, a fungal pathogen, heat shock, and performance on different host plants. Surprisingly, genetic identity and genotype × genotype interactions explained far more of the phenotypic variation (on average 22% and 31% respectively) than species identity or species interactions (on average 12% and 0.4%, respectively). We determined the costs and benefits associated with co-infection, and how these compared to corresponding single infections. All phenotypes were highly reliant on individual isolates or interactions between isolates of the co-infecting partners. Our findings highlight the importance of exploring the eco-evolutionary consequences of these highly specific interactions in communities of co-inherited species.

scholarly journals Evaluating Coexistence of Fish Species with Coastal Cutthroat Trout in Low Order Streams of Western Oregon and Washington, USA

Fishes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Kyle D. Martens ◽  
Jason Dunham
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Single Species ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Small Streams ◽  
Coastal Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Low Order

When multiple species of fish coexist there are a host of potential ways through which they may interact, yet there is often a strong focus on studies of single species without considering these interactions. For example, many studies of forestry–stream interactions in the Pacific Northwest have focused solely on the most prevalent species: Coastal cutthroat trout. To examine the potential for interactions of other fishes with coastal cutthroat trout, we conducted an analysis of 281 sites in low order streams located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and along the central Oregon coast. Coastal cutthroat trout and juvenile coho salmon were the most commonly found salmonid species within these streams and exhibited positive associations with each other for both presence and density. Steelhead were negatively associated with the presence of coastal cutthroat trout as well as with coho salmon and sculpins (Cottidae). Coastal cutthroat trout most frequently shared streams with juvenile coho salmon. For densities of these co-occurring species, associations between these two species were relatively weak compared to the strong influences of physical stream conditions (size and gradient), suggesting that physical conditions may have more of an influence on density than species interactions. Collectively, our analysis, along with a review of findings from prior field and laboratory studies, suggests that the net effect of interactions between coastal cutthroat trout and coho salmon do not appear to inhibit their presence or densities in small streams along the Pacific Northwest.

Thinking honeyeater: nectar maps for the Northern Territory, Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
Greg Connors ◽  
Don C. Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Northern Territory ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
The World ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
The Times ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Nectar Availability

We create monthly maps of nectar availability for the 1.4 x 106 km2 jurisdiction of the Northern Territory, Australia. These are based on a combination of vegetation mapping and a series of indices of plant species specific nectar scoring. The maps reveal complex spatial and temporal variation in nectar availability, but most notably a greater nectar resource in the monsoon-influenced north than in the arid south, and a peak in nectar availability in the dry season. The latter is associated with the extensive tropical eucalypt forests (especially those co-dominated by Eucalyptus miniata and E. tetrodonta). In contrast, wet season nectar availability in these forests is limited, but riparian and swampland forests, typically dominated by Melaleuca species, provide rich but spatially restricted nectar resources. The extensive and rich nectar resources available in eucalypt forests in the dry season supplement the diets of many species which are not primarily nectarivorous. This resource helps shape the singularity of northern Australian eucalypt forests relative to other extensive forests elsewhere in the world. Nectarivores remain in the system through a combination of movements across a number of scales, habitat shifting, and diet shifting. The latter is aided by the peaking of invertebrate and fruit resources at the times of minimum nectar production; a shuffling in resource availability brought about by the extreme climatic seasonality.

scholarly journals Butter fly Feeding Preferences of Lantana camara Cultivars and Lantana montevidensis ‘Weeping Lavender’ in the Landscape and Nectar Characteristics

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
Laura L. Bruner ◽  
Donald J. Eakes ◽  
Gary J. Keever ◽  
James W. Baier ◽  
Celia Stuart Whitman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Index ◽  
Flower Color ◽  
Corolla Tube ◽  
Lantana Camara ◽  
Cultivar Differences ◽  
Tube Length ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Nectar Volume

Abstract In landscape studies conducted in 2002 and 2003, Lantana camara (L.) ‘New Gold’ and ‘Radiation’ were visited by native butterflies to a greater extent than the remaining eight lantana in the studies. Other lantana visited preferentially but not as consistently included L. camara ‘White Doves’, ‘Firewagon’, ‘Confetti’, and Lantana montevidensis (Spreng.) ‘Weeping Lavender’. In general, the lowest visitation was experienced by L. camara ‘Cherry’ and ‘Carlos’. Total visit duration by one randomly selected butterfly was greater for ‘New Gold’, ‘Radiation’, ‘Firewagon’, and ‘White Doves’ than the remaining lantana. Plant characteristics including inflorescence number, number of flowers per inflorescence, percentage of yellow flowers per inflorescence, growth index, flower morphology, and flower color characteristics differed among cultivars. Cultivar differences that consistently correlated with visitation preferences were inflorescence number in 2002 and 2003, flower number per inflorescence in 2003, percentage of yellow flowers per inflorescence in 2002 and 2003, and growth index in 2003. Flower lightness and flower chroma correlated sporadically with visitation in late September and October 2002 and 2003. Percentage light reflectance of flowers for the wavelengths of green, yellow, orange, and red correlated with visitation in 2003. Based on correlation analysis, the cultivar characteristics that did not contribute to visitation differences included inflorescence width, corolla width, and corolla tube length. In a separate study conducted in 2003 using the same lantana as in the visitation study, nectar volume, carbohydrate composition, and sucrose and fructose concentrations differed among inflorescences. Of ten Lantana evaluated, ‘Carlos’ and ‘Confetti had the largest inflorescence nectar volumes combined from nine flowers while ‘New Gold’, ‘White Doves’, and ‘Weeping Lavender’ had the smallest. The ratio of sucrose to hexose (fructose and glucose) in nectar from ‘Weeping Lavender’, ‘White Doves’, and ‘New Gold’ was greater than that of the remaining Lantana. The lowest ratios of sucrose to hexose were found for ‘Irene’, ‘Hot Country’, and ‘Carlos’, while similar to ‘Cherry’ and ‘Radiation’. The sucrose to hexose ratio for recently opened inner flowers was double that of middle and outer flowers. Sucrose and total sugar concentrations were greatest in recently opened inner flowers compared to middle and outer flowers. While direct comparison to the 2002 and 2003 studies of butterfly visitation preferences was not possible due to experimental design, data trends suggest a possible relationship between sugar composition, inflorescence nectar production and visitation from native butterfly species.

scholarly journals Toward a Better Understanding of Species Interactions through Network Biology

mSystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan S. McClure
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Omics Data ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Natural Settings ◽  
Microbial Systems ◽  
Omic Data

ABSTRACT Within the last decade, there has been an explosion of multi-omics data generated for several microbial systems. At the same time, new methods of analysis have emerged that are based on inferring networks that link features both within and between species based on correlation in abundance. These developments prompt two important questions. What can be done with network approaches to better understand microbial species interactions? What challenges remain in applying network approaches to query the more complex systems of natural settings? Here, I briefly describe what has been done and what questions still need to be answered. Over the next 5 to 10 years, we will be in a strong position to infer networks that contain multiple kinds of omic data and describe systems with multiple species. These applications will open the door for a better understanding and use of microbiomes across a variety of fields.

scholarly journals Variation in Nectar Volume and Sugar Concentration ofAllium ursinumL. ssp.ucrainicumin Three Habitats

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ágnes Farkas ◽  
Réka Molnár ◽  
Tamás Morschhauser ◽  
István Hahn
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Brown Forest Soil ◽  
Full Bloom ◽  
Floral Nectar ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Nectar Volume ◽  
Sessile Oak ◽  
Microclimatic Conditions ◽  
The Difference

Floral nectar volume and concentration of ramson (Allium ursinumL. ssp.ucrainicum) were investigated in three different habitats, including two types of sessile oak-hornbeam association on brown forest soil with clay illuviation and a silver lime-flowering ash rock forest association on rendzina. Daily nectar production ranged from 0.1 to 3.8 μL per flower with sugar concentrations of 25 to 50%. Mean nectar volumes and concentrations showed significant differences between freely exposed flowers and covered flowers, which had been isolated from flower visitors 24 h prior to nectar studies. Both the amount and quality of nectar were affected by microclimatic conditions and soil properties and varied between populations at different habitats. In the silver lime-flowering ash rock-forest association mean nectar volumes and concentrations were lower than in a typical sessile oak-hornbeam association on three occasions, the difference being significant in two cases. During full bloom, the date of sampling did not have a profound effect on either nectar volume or concentration.

scholarly journals Pollination biology of Cleomella serrulata and Polanisia dodecandra in a protected natural prairie in southern Alberta, Canada

Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
pp. 745-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Higuera-Díaz ◽  
Jessamyn S. Manson ◽  
Jocelyn C. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Nectar Volume ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Pollination Systems ◽  
Generalist Pollination

Flowering plants that attract a diverse range of pollinators represent a generalist pollination system. Studying these plants provides valuable information about accessibility of floral resources to pollinators, which is particularly important in areas where scarcity of flowers limits pollinator populations. Here, we describe the flowering phenology, reproductive biology, and visitor community of Cleomella serrulata (Pursh) Roalson & J.C.Hall and Polanisia dodecandra (L.) DC., two native species with generalist pollination systems and limited distribution in Albertan prairies. Although their flowers are similar, they differ in traits such as petal colour, inflorescence size, and nectar display. Both species were facultatively cross-pollinated and exhibited nocturnal anthesis but differed in nectar production patterns. Cleomella serrulata produced highest nectar volume in the morning and highest sugar concentration at noon, while Polanisia dodecandra produced highest nectar volume before noon but sugar concentrations were higher at sunset. We observed 150 insect taxa visiting the plants, with Hymenoptera and Diptera as the most frequent visitors for Cleomella serrulata and Polanisia dodecandra, respectively. We recorded the first nocturnal flower visitors for Cleomella serrulata and the first record of Nysson plagiatus (Cresson) for Alberta. Both plant species present effective nectar and pollen resources for pollinators at the study sites and may be useful in the maintenance of native pollinators in at-risk prairie ecosystems.

scholarly journals Aridity weakens population-level effects of multiple species interactions on Hibiscus meyeri

2017 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison M. Louthan ◽  
Robert M. Pringle ◽  
Jacob R. Goheen ◽  
Todd M. Palmer ◽  
William F. Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Multiple Species

Predicting how species’ abundances and ranges will shift in response to climate change requires a mechanistic understanding of how multiple factors interact to limit population growth. Both abiotic stress and species interactions can limit populations and potentially set range boundaries, but we have a poor understanding of when and where each is most critical. A commonly cited hypothesis, first proposed by Darwin, posits that abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, precipitation) are stronger determinants of range boundaries in apparently abiotically stressful areas (“stress” indicates abiotic factors that reduce population growth), including desert, polar, or high-elevation environments, whereas species interactions (e.g., herbivory, competition) play a stronger role in apparently less stressful environments. We tested a core tenet of this hypothesis—that population growth rate is more strongly affected by species interactions in less stressful areas—using experimental manipulations of species interactions affecting a common herbaceous plant, Hibiscus meyeri (Malvaceae), across an aridity gradient in a semiarid African savanna. Population growth was more strongly affected by four distinct species interactions (competition with herbaceous and shrubby neighbors, herbivory, and pollination) in less stressful mesic areas than in more stressful arid sites. However, contrary to common assumptions, this effect did not arise because of greater density or diversity of interacting species in less stressful areas, but rather because aridity reduced sensitivity of population growth to these interactions. Our work supports classic predictions about the relative strength of factors regulating population growth across stress gradients, but suggests that this pattern results from a previously unappreciated mechanism that may apply to many species worldwide.

Effect of Pollinators and Nectar Robbers on Nectar Production and Pollen Deposition in Hamelia patens (Rubiaceae)1

Biotropica ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Eloisa Lasso ◽  
Maria Elena Naranjo
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Nectar Robbers
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