scholarly journals Wind pollination and propagule formation in Rhizophora mangle L. (Rhizophoraceae): resource or pollination limitation?

2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
TARCILA L. NADIA ◽  
ISABEL C. MACHADO
Keyword(s):  
Floral Morphology ◽  
Rhizophora Mangle ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Wind Pollination ◽  
Reproductive Systems ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Pollination Limitation ◽  
Propagule Dispersal ◽  
Male Phase ◽  
And Behavior

Rhizophora mangle is considered as a self-compatible mangrove, and is pollinated by wind and insects. However, there is no information about fruit production by autogamy and agamospermy and on the foraging behavior of its flower visitors. Hence, the present study analyzed the pollination and reproductive systems of R. mangle in a mangrove community in northern Pernambuco, Brazil. Floral morphology, sequence of anthesis, and behavior of flower visitors were described; the proportion of flowers that resulted in mature propagules was also recorded. Autogamy, agamospermy, and wind pollination tests were performed, and a new anemophily index is proposed. The flowers of R. mangle are hermaphrodite, protandric, and have high P/O rate. Flies were observed on flowers only during the male phase, probably feeding on mites that consume pollen. Rhizophora mangle is not agamospermic and its fruit production rate by spontaneous self-pollination is low (2.56%) compared to wind pollination (19.44%). The anemophily index was high 0.98, and thus it was considered as a good indicator. Only 13.79% of the flowers formed mature propagules. The early stages of fruit development are the most critical and susceptible to predation. Rhizophora mangle is, therefore, exclusively anemophilous in the study area and the propagule dispersal seems to be limited by herbivory.

scholarly journals Floral biology and a pollinator effectiveness test of the diurnal floral visitors of Tabernaemontana undulata Vahl. (Apocynaceae) in the understory of Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thaysa Nogueira de Moura ◽  
Antonio Carlos Webber ◽  
Liliane Noemia Melo Torres
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Floral Biology ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Pollinator Effectiveness ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Disturbed Area ◽  
Floral Visitor

In this paper we examined the floral biology, per-visit effectiveness, frequency of visits and relative abundance of the diurnal floral visitor taxa of T. undulata (Apocynaceae) at two populations located in the primary forest and in a disturbed area connected to the continuous forest. Its hermaphrodite flowers show a long and narrow floral tube and introrse anthers form a cone around the apex of the style head where the pollen is deposited. The stigmatic head has three functional regions, in a complex pollination mechanism favoring cross-pollination. In the pollinator censuses conducted in the primary forest population we registered Eulaema bombiformis. In the disturbed area Euglossa sp. was responsible for visits on T. undulata fl owers. Eulaema bombiformis was not absent in the disturbed area, but preferred to forage on pollen and nectar-rich flowers of two neighboring flowering species. In the primary forest, T. undulata was the only fl owering treelet at the end of the dry season. Signifi cant differences were not observed regarding the frequency of visits and relative abundance among the diurnal flower visitors at both sites. In the per-visit effectiveness experiment among flower visitors, we observed one fruit produced aft er E. bombiformis' visits. Due to the complex breeding system of T. undulata in that it is characterized by very low fruit production even under natural conditions, an indirect measure of pollinator effectiveness is needed in at a future stage of this study in order to clarify the role of these bee species as pollinators of T. undulata.

scholarly journals COMPOSITION AND FREQUENCY OF FLOWER VISITORS IN SOME VARIETIES OF MELON UNDER DIFFERENT CROP CONDITIONS1

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 976-984
Author(s):  
EVA MONICA SARMENTO DA SILVA ◽  
MÁRCIA DE FÁTIMA RIBEIRO ◽  
LÚCIA HELENA PIEDADE KIILL ◽  
MÁRCIA DE SOUSA COELHO ◽  
MARA POLINE DA SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Cucumis Melo ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Main Production ◽  
Brazilian Northeast ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Dry And Rainy Seasons

ABSTRACT Previous investigations showed that diverse varieties of melon may have different attractiveness for bees. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the composition, frequency and behavior of flower visitors of some melon (Cucumis melo) cultivars (Amarelo, Pele de Sapo, Cantaloupe, Gália) in different conditions (conventional and organic farming, dry and rainy seasons, with and without mulching and introduction or not of honey bee hives) in the main production poles in the Brazilian Northeast (Petrolina-PE/Juazeiro-BA, Pacajus-CE and Mossoro-RN). Observations and collections of flower visitors occurred from 5p.m. to 6p.m, in non-consecutive days. We recorded 12 species of insects, mostly bees. The most frequent was Apis mellifera (99.68%), but other species appeared sporadically (less than 0.5%): Xylocopa grisescens, Trigona spinipes, Plebeia sp., Melipona mandacaia, Frieseomelitta doedereleini, Halicitidae. Apis mellifera was present in all studied cultivars and sites. Xylocopa grisescens appeared in two poles, but not in Pacajus-CE, Amarelo cultivar. In addition, Trigona spinipes, although present in the three poles, was not recorded on Pele de Sapo. The Amarelo cultivar, under organic farming, without the use of mulching, and presence of honey bee hives, in the Petrolina-PE/Juazeiro-BA pole, in the dry season, was the combination of factors showing the largest number of Apis mellifera as the main visitor of melon flowers.

Floral morphology of Eucalyptus leucoxylon (Myrtaceae) facilitates pollination by lorikeet (Aves: Psittacidae) tongues

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Zilko ◽  
Susan E. Hoebee ◽  
Trevor J. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Floral Morphology ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Adhesive Tape ◽  
Electron Micrograph ◽  
Scanning Electron Micrograph ◽  
Pollen Transport ◽  
Male Phase ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Generalist Pollination

Bird pollination is particularly common and widespread in the southern regions of Australia. Despite some eucalypts being heavily frequented by birds, they are usually considered to have a generalist pollination system because of their apparently unspecialised floral morphology. A few species possess protandrous anthers that dehisce within a tightly furled dome of filaments. We hypothesised that this facilitates pollen transport via the brush tongues of lorikeets. Using Eucalyptus leucoxylon F.Muell. and five captive rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus hematodus) as a model, we demonstrated that lorikeets remove significant quantities of pollen from flowers with inflexed filaments in a short time (30 min), compared with bagged control flowers (Mann–Whitney U test, Z = 165.4, d.f. = 29, P = 0.008). Some of this pollen is deposited on stigmas by the tongue, which is the organ that most regularly and reliably contacts stigmas. The mean number of pollen grains deposited on stigmas by each bird was as high as 121.2. Adhesive tape contacted by the tongue during foraging removed up to 2104 pollen grains, which was significantly greater than for uncontacted control tape (Mann–Whitney U test, Z = 110, d.f. = 21, P < 0.001). Scanning electron micrograph imaging of a lorikeet tongue showed many pollen grains that had been transferred onto its keratin papillae, which is likely to have contributed to high carryover rates by retaining pollen for a substantial amount of time. Minimal pollen is available for generalist pollination once the filaments unfurl. It appears highly unlikely that insects are able to access pollen from these male-phase flowers and inflexed filaments may therefore fulfil an exclusionary role.

Tropical fruit production depends on wild insect communities: bees and lychees in Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Khwankhao Sinhaseni ◽  
Carla P. Catterall
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Tropical Fruit ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Pollination Success ◽  
Hand Pollination ◽  
Mesh Bags

Abstract The importance of wild insects as pollinators of tropical tree crops has rarely been tested. Across 18 small-scale lychee orchards in northern Thailand, we evaluated the roles of different wild insects as pollinators and predators of pests in fruit production. Quantitative assessments showed that bees (Family Apidae) were strongly dominant (83%) among insect flower visitors, comprising four species in tribes Apini and four in Meliponini. Experimental manipulations of inflorescences showed that fruit production in these orchards was: (1) dependent on flower visits by wild insects because enclosure of inflorescences in mesh bags decreased fruit set (to one-fifth) and (2) not greatly limited by pollinator deficiencies, because hand pollination of unbagged flowers did not enhance fruit set. Pollination success, as indicated by the proportion of unmanipulated flowers setting fruit, correlated positively across orchards with the abundance of large-bodied Apidae (>7 mm; most were Apis species) and of Apini, and negatively with abundance of small-bodied Apidae and of all Meliponini, despite the latter being the commonest flower visitors. We conclude that larger-bodied bees are most likely to travel sufficiently far to import genetically diverse pollen, in this landscape-scale mosaic where non-orchard habitats (both agriculture and treed patches) were sufficient to sustain wild pollinators.

scholarly journals Reproductive Ecology of Euglossine Bee-pollinated Orchid Catasetum Integerrimum Hook (Ochidaceae)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélica María Hernández-Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Reproductive Ecology ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Release Mechanism ◽  
Pollinator Visitation ◽  
Euglossine Bee ◽  
New Research ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Catasetum is a dimorphic and dioecious genus of orchids with a pollinaria release mechanism triggered by pollinator visitation. The reproductive ecology of Catasetum integerrimum Hook (Orchidaceae) was characterized in Central Veracruz, Mexico. For that, it was determined whether floral senescence and fruit production are resulted of pollination efficiency in the species, and if so, to what extent present reproductive event constraint the investment in subsequent reproductive event. In the sampled population, efficient pollinaria removal/deposition triggered floral senescence. Eulaema polychroma bee visited earlier and with lower frequency the staminate than pistillate flowers. Alleviating pollen limitation increased fruit production but it caused a reduction in flower and fruit production in the subsequent reproductive event. C. integerrimum seemed to exhibit reproductive cost-saving mechanisms linked to the pollinator identity and behavior, whereas pollinator efficiency appeared to be mediated by dioecism and dimorphism in floral traits. This study highlights the importance to understand the adaptive significance of dimorphic floral traits in animal-pollinated plants, stimulating new research avenues on the role of pollinators in maintaining safe reproduction threshold of plants.

scholarly journals Pollination in the Rainforest: Scarce Visitors and Low Effective Pollinators Limit the Fruiting Success of Tropical Orchids

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 856
Author(s):  
Hortensia Cabrera Reyes ◽  
David Draper ◽  
Isabel Marques
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Single Plant ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Pollination Success ◽  
Pollination Limitation ◽  
Orchid Pollination ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Effective Pollinators

A single plant might be visited by many flower visitors but not all might act as pollinators. Legitimate pollinators might also differ considerably in their efficiency, limiting pollination success. Unsuitable climatic conditions such as rain also affect pollinator activity. However, in the evergreen rainforest there is no prolonged dry season and flowering occurs usually under rain. Here, we explore the dependence on pollinators and the efficiency of flower visitors for the fruiting success of 10 Andean rainforest orchids. All species were self-compatible but strictly pollinator-dependent. Overall, we found low levels of fruit set in control flowers while experimental geitonogamous and cross-pollinations increased fruit set, revealing extensive pollination limitation in all populations. Seed viability dropped considerably after self and geitonogamous pollinations suggesting the possibility of early-acting inbreeding depression. Even though we monitored flower visitors on an extensive survey, few visitors were seen in these species and even fewer acted as legitimate pollinators. Thus, even though orchid pollination might be extremely diversified, these results show that few visitors are pollinating these species, explaining the low levels of fruit set recorded in the area studied.

scholarly journals Self-incompatibility limits sexual reproduction rather than environmental conditions in an invasive aquatic plant

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis O. Portillo Lemus ◽  
Michel Bozec ◽  
Marilyne Harang ◽  
Julie Coudreuse ◽  
Jacques Haury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Aquatic Plant ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Self Incompatibility ◽  
Reproductive Systems ◽  
Ecological Success ◽  
Ludwigia Grandiflora

SummaryFruitfulness and fertility are important components of sexual reproductive success in plants, and often depends on environmental conditions and reproductive systems. For invasive plants, fruitfulness and fertility control their ecological success and adaptation in invaded ecosystems. We studied which factors bring about fruitfulness and fertility in invasive populations of the aquatic plant Ludwigia grandiflora subsp. hexapetala.We analysed fruitfulness and fertility of 37 populations growing under variable climatic conditions in Western Europe, and sub-sampled fruitful and fruitless populations grown in common controlled conditions. We carried out self- and cross-pollinations and measured their floral biometrics.Environmental conditions, and temperature in particular, did not affect fruitfulness and fertility in-situ or in common controlled environments. Hand-pollinations resulted in fruit production by individuals sampled from fruitless populations when pollen came from fruitful populations, and by individuals sampled from fruitful populations whatever the origin of pollen. Floral biometrics evidenced the existence of two floral morphs that overlapped with fruitfulness, and individual incompatibility.Our results rebutted the hypothesis that environmental conditions control fruitfulness and fertility in these invasive populations. We instead found that fruit and seed production were controlled by a reproductive system involving a self-incompatible approach herkogamous morph and a self-compatible reverse herkogamous morph. We assessed the floral morphs distribution worldwide of fruitless and fruitful native and invasive populations that matched our results at larger scale. Our results may constitute the first evidence of a possible heteromorphic self-incompatible system in Ludwigia populations and in Onagraceae phylogeny. It calls for further investigations on reproductive systems in this plant family. Finally, the observation that the self-incompatible morph seemed to be the world most invasive morph in this species tackles our understanding of biological and ecological conditions for invasiveness.Synthesis. Our study showed that fruitfulness and fertility in the aquatic invasive plant, Ludwigia grandiflora subsp. hexapetala depend on a self-incompatibility system coinciding with two floral morphs, rather than environmental conditions and limitations. These new explanations on the sexual success of Ludwigia invasive populations will help defining new predictions about its worldwide spreads and ecological success, and will help reappraising future management plans.

scholarly journals The light intensity mediates the pollination efficacy of a Caatinga morning glory Ipomoea bahiensis (Convolvulaceae)

Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. e5906
Author(s):  
Miriam Gimenes ◽  
Laene Silva Araujo ◽  
Anderson Matos Medina
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Morning Glory ◽  
Flower Opening ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
The Times ◽  
Opening And Closing

Pollination is an ecological process that relies on the matching traits of flower visitors and flowers. Morphology, behavior, and temporal patterns play essential roles in mediating the interactions between plants and floral visitors. This study analyzed the temporal aspects of visitors and flowers interaction and the possible adjustment between both organisms.  We used Ipomoea bahiensis and its flower visitors as a model system. We evaluated the visitor frequency on the flowers throughout the day, flower opening and closing times, pollen availability and stigma receptivity. We also evaluated the highest fruit production time during the flower longevity was analyzed, and the time of highest pollinator activity, related to climatic factors. Among the floral visitors, bees, especially Melitoma spp., Apis mellifera, and Pseudaugochlora pandora were the most frequent visitors, presenting regular visits synchronized with the flower opening and closing times, which were also regular. This system was influenced mainly by light intensity. Besides, these bees were very active during the times of the highest fruit production.  These data indicate the presence of temporal patterns for both the bees and the visited plants, and synchronization between them, being the light intensity as a modulator of the rhythms of bees and plant, confirming the importance of the temporal adjustments for pollination efficiency.

Bog ericad flowers: self-compatibility and relative attractiveness to bees

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (17) ◽  
pp. 2279-2287 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Reader
Keyword(s):  
Seed Set ◽  
Floral Morphology ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Hand Pollination ◽  
Insect Visitation ◽  
Relative Attractiveness ◽  
Self Compatibility ◽  
Insect Visitors

The seed set of eight bog plants in the Ericaceae family was reduced by excluding insect flower visitors even though hand-pollination tests showed that all eight species were self-compatible. Floral morphology evidently minimizes the possibility that pollen will be transferred from anther to stigma in the absence of insect visitation. Bees were the most important flower visitors, collecting nectar and (or) pollen. The attractiveness (nectar and (or) pollen extractable per minute) of the ericad flowers varied considerably. This variability would promote forager specialization and flowering-timing diversification if the ratio of insect visitors to flowers was low.

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