A Continuum of Conspicuousness, Floral Signals, and Pollination Systems in Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae): Evidence of Ambophily and Entomophily in a Mostly Anemophilous Family

2021 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 372-391
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Galindo da Costa ◽  
William Wayt Thomas ◽  
Artur Campos D. Maia ◽  
Daniela Maria do Amaral Ferraz Navarro ◽  
Paulo Milet-Pinheiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
First Record ◽  
Flower Morphology ◽  
Evolutionary Strategies ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Complete Adaptation ◽  
Pollen Vectors ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Pollination Systems

Floral colors and odors are evolutionary strategies used by plants to attract pollinating animals and may be absent in mostly anemophilous groups, such as Cyperaceae. However, considering that insects are floral visitors of some Rhynchospora Vahl species, the objective of this study was to characterize the floral traits and pollination systems within this genus. We analyzed 16 Rhynchospora species with regard to flower morphology, colors of floral structures, floral scents, pollen vectors, and pollination systems. We verified factors that can favor abiotic or biotic pollination in a continuum of floral traits in Rhynchospora. The flower morphology of R. dissitispicula T. Koyama, with inconspicuous brown spikelets in open panicles, is interpreted as a complete adaptation to anemophily. Conspicuous floral traits in Rhynchospora were distinguished from the background by bees. Some species also emit floral volatiles, and we made the first record of floral scent chemistry within the genus. Most of the compounds emitted by these species are known as attractants to many floral-visiting insects. Bees, beetles, and flies visited species with conspicuous floral traits and contributed to fruit set. The investigated floral traits form a continuum across the different pollination systems in Rhynchospora, from anemophilous to ambophilous and then to entomophilous representatives.

Pollination biology of Echinopsis leucantha (Cactaceae): passerine birds and exotic bees as effective pollinators

Botany ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Gorostiague ◽  
Pablo Ortega-Baes
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
First Record ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Pollination Systems ◽  
Effective Pollinators

Cactus flowers have traditionally been considered to be specialized to certain pollination guilds, but pollination studies reveal that most species are actually generalists. This suggests that floral traits are not always predictive of the animal visitors that pollinate cactus flowers. Here, we studied the pollination of Echinopsis leucantha (Gillies ex Salm-Dyck) Walp., an endemic cactus of Argentina, whose floral traits would suggest that it is pollinated by moths. The floral lifespan and flower availability throughout the reproductive period were evaluated. Field experiments were carried out to study the reproductive system and the identity and effectiveness of floral visitors. Echinopsis leucantha flowers had a nocturnal anthesis time that extended into the following morning. The species was self-incompatible. Floral visitors included moths, bees, and passerine birds. However, diurnal visitors were more effective as pollinators than nocturnal ones. The flowers of E. leucantha were phenotypically specialized (sphingophily); however, the pollination system was functionally and ecologically generalized. The results confirm that generalized pollination systems are widespread among species of the Echinopsis genus with nocturnal flowers, for which diurnal pollinators seem to have a key role in fruit and seed production. Our study constitutes the first record of passerine bird pollination in the Cactaceae for mainland South America.

Disentangling the ecological basis of floral trait variation in Neotropical Piper species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Valentin-Silva ◽  
Marco Antonio Batalha ◽  
Elza Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Floral Traits ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Floral Trait ◽  
Floral Diversification ◽  
Pollen Vectors ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Pollination Systems

Abstract In generalist pollination systems, it has been assumed that pollinators play a minor role in the diversification of floral traits, but recent studies have pointed to a different scenario. Although pollination in Piper is considered generalist, there are flower and inflorescence variations among subclades that may be associated with different pollinator functional groups. Based on this, we aimed to test whether pollinators influenced the evolution of floral traits in a clade of generalist plants, by studying 17 co-occurring Piper spp. Sixteen species were insect-pollinated (46 species: bees, beetles and flies). We found no evidence of anemophily. Eight species were dependent on pollen vectors for sexual reproduction, but no correlation between floral and pollinator traits was recorded. None of the floral traits presented phylogenetic signal, and the evolution of these traits was not correlated. Nine species were independent of pollen vectors for sexual reproduction. We did not find any evidence of pollinator-driven floral diversification of Piper spp.; we suggest a possible role of abiotic factors as agents of selection on floral diversification. As self-pollination seems to be a common feature in the genus, the flexibility of mating systems could be another important factor related to the maintenance of floral phenotypic variation.

Visual and olfactory floral cues related to ambophilous pollination systems in Poaceae

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isadora Schulze-Albuquerque ◽  
Ana Carolina Galindo Da Costa ◽  
Paulo Milet-Pinheiro ◽  
Daniela Maria Do Amaral Ferraz Navarro ◽  
William Wayt Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grass Species ◽  
Wind Pollination ◽  
Pollen Vectors ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Pollen Vector ◽  
Pollination Systems ◽  
Chloris Barbata ◽  
Floral Cues

Abstract Usually considered anemophilous, grasses (Poaceae) have been the subject of few studies that recorded insects visiting their flowers. Such visitors, with wind, could act as pollen vectors in a possible ambophilous system. Since colour and scent are floral cues attracting pollinating insects, we aimed to provide the first insights into how these cues could be involved in the attraction of pollinators by grasses. Chloris barbata, Paspalum maritimum (with two morphotypes), P. millegrana and Urochloa plantaginea were studied. We determined the role of each pollen vector (wind and insect) and we registered the frequency of floral visitors. Also, we characterized the colour reflectance of glumes, anthers and stigmas and we determined the colour space in the bee colour hexagon and the chemical composition of floral scents. The floral structures of each species reflect colour differently and are perceived differently by pollinators. Furthermore, the volatile organic compounds detected are similar to those found in entomophilous species. In two of the grass species, we registered eight species of visitors, including bees, wasps and flies. Overall, wind was the most important vector for reproductive success. Insects, however, may induce wind pollination by creating pollen clouds when they visit inflorescences.

scholarly journals A Review on the Pollination of Aroids with Bisexual Flowers

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Díaz Jiménez ◽  
Heiko Hentrich ◽  
Pedro Adrián Aguilar-Rodríguez ◽  
Thorsten Krömer ◽  
Marion Chartier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Volatile Compounds ◽  
Floral Morphology ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Floral Ecology ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Floral Volatile ◽  
Pollination Systems

This paper presents an exhaustive review of the current knowledge on pollination of Araceae genera with bisexual flowers. All available studies on floral morphology, flowering sequence, floral scent, floral thermogenesis, floral visitors, and pollinators were carefully examined, with emphasis on the species-rich genera Anthurium Schott, Monstera Adans., and Spathiphyllum Schott. Genera with bisexual flowers are among the early-diverging lineages in Araceae, but present adaptations in their floral ecology to a great variety of pollination vectors, such as bees, beetles, flies, and, unusually, wind. These clades have developed highly derived pollination systems, involving the use of floral scent as a reward. We conclude that floral scent chemistry plays a key role in the pollination biology of the plants and that, in some genera, reproductive isolation through variation in the emitted floral volatile compounds may have been the decisive factor in the speciation processes of sympatric species.

scholarly journals Bumblebee Preadators Reduce Pollinator Density and Plant Fitness

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 94-97
Author(s):  
Reuven Dukas
Keyword(s):  
Food Reward ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Pollination Biology ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Plant Fitness ◽  
Predatory Activity ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Flower Visiting ◽  
Pollination Systems

Research in pollination biology has focused on the interactions between animals and the flowers they visit for food reward. However, other selective agents, including predators, seed feeders and herbivores, may affect pollination systems. Because flowers are predictable food sources for a variety of species, flowers are also reliable sites at which predators can locate flower-visiting animals. Prominent among pollinators' predators are beewolves (Philanthus spp), common sphecid wasps (Sphecidae) that prey almost exclusively on bees. My field work over three years indicates, first, that an area of approximately 50 square km surrounding a single bumblebee wolf (Philanthus bicinctus) aggregation had a low bumblebee (Bombus spp) density caused by intense predation by the wasps, and, second, that fruit set of the bumblebee pollinated western monkshood (Aconitum columbianum) was significantly lower at locations and times of bumblebee wolf activity than at control locations and times with no such predatory activity. These results indicate that predation can sometimes alter plant­pollinator interactions.

Adaptive response of extreme epiphyte Tillandsia species (Bromeliaceae) is demonstrated by different sexual reproduction strategies in the Brazilian Chaco

2019 ◽  
Vol 192 (4) ◽  
pp. 840-854
Author(s):  
Aline C Gomes ◽  
Bruno H S Ferreira ◽  
Camila S Souza ◽  
Luan M M Arakaki ◽  
Camila Aoki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding System ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Extreme Environment ◽  
Floral Biology ◽  
Reproduction Strategies ◽  
Pollen Vectors ◽  
Self Compatibility ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Selection For

Abstract Some epiphytes are adapted to extreme environments with the ability to survive drought as a result of their morphological (xeromorphism), anatomical (foliar trichomes or scales) and physiological features. In contrast to vegetative features, they may have diverse sexual reproductive strategies. Here we compared the flowering morphology, floral biology, breeding system and pollinators of Tillandsia duratii, T. loliacea and T. recurvifolia (Bromeliaceae) adapted to an extreme environment, the Brazilian Chaco. Tillandsia duratii and T. recurvifolia flower for 5–6 months, whereas T. loliaceae flowers for 11 months, mainly in the dry season, with low to high flowering overlap between them. Although these species generally show similar flowering morphology, they differ in size, colour, odour and/or floral functionality, suggesting non-sharing of pollinators among them. Bimodal pollination occurs in T. duratii (bees, moths other than hawkmoths) and T. recurvifolia (butterflies, hummingbirds); in T. loliacea, we recorded no floral visitors. Tillandsia recurvifolia is self-incompatible, has flowers which approach herkogamy and protandry, and depends on pollen vectors for fruit set. The other two species show reverse herkogamy, autonomous self-pollination and self-compatibility (mixed breeding system); therefore, pollinators are not required. The disparity in reproductive strategies among the three species suggests the possibility of selection for diverse modes of reproduction.

scholarly journals Pollination by nectar-foraging thynnine wasps in the endangered Caladenia arenaria and Caladenia concolor (Orchidaceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noushka Reiter ◽  
Björn Bohman ◽  
Marc Freestone ◽  
Graham R. Brown ◽  
Ryan D. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Orchid Species ◽  
Late Afternoon ◽  
Nectar Foraging ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Pollination Strategy ◽  
Pollination Systems

Prior to undertaking conservation translocations of plants with specialised pollination systems, it is important to ensure the presence of pollinators at recipient sites. Here, for two threatened species, Caladenia concolor Fitzg. and Caladenia arenaria Fitzg. (Orchidaceae), we determine (i) the pollination strategy used, (ii) which floral visitors are involved in pollination, and (iii) whether the pollinator species are present at potential translocation sites. For both orchid species, pollination was primarily achieved by nectar-foraging thynnine wasps, with a single species responsible for pollination in C. concolor, whereas C. arenaria utilised at least two species to achieve pollination. Both orchid species secreted meagre quantities of sucrose on the upper surface of the labellum. Visits to C. concolor occurred primarily in the late afternoon, with some wasps perching on the flowers overnight. Surveys revealed that pollinators were present at all extant populations and most potential translocation sites for both orchids. The specialisation on one pollinator species in C. concolor means that the distribution of the pollinator needs to be considered for conservation translocations. With C. arenaria, the risk of hybridisation with other Caladenia that are known to share one of its pollinator species needs to be taken into account when selecting translocation sites.

scholarly journals Breeding biology and distyly in Palicourea rigida H. B. & K. (Rubiaceae) in the Cerrados of Central Brazil

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana de Oliveira Machado ◽  
Ana Palmira Silva ◽  
Helder Consolaro ◽  
Mariluza A. Granja e Barros ◽  
Paulo Eugênio Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Floral Biology ◽  
Nectar Production ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Palicourea Rigida ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Compatible Pollen ◽  
Incompatibility Reactions

Distyly is a floral polymorphism more common among the Rubiaceae than in any other angiosperm group. Palicourea rigida is a typically distylous species of the Rubiaceae widely distributed in the Brazilian Cerrados. This work aimed to study the floral biology and breeding system of P. rigida in order to verify if there wasasymmetry between floral morphs. The work was carried out at Fazenda Água Limpa, Brasília-DF, from 1993 to 1995; and at Serra Caldas Novas State Park-Goias and in Clube Caça e Pesca Itororó de Uberlândia-Minas Gerais in 2005 and 2006. Density, height and pin/thrum ratio were assessed for flowering individuals in all areas. Plants were investigated for differences in floral morphology, nectar production, reproductive success and site of self incompatibility reactions. Blooming period was long and concentrated during the rains. Flowers were clearly distylous and with reciprocal herkogamy. They produced nectar and lasted for a single day. In spite of differences in density and height, populations were mostly isoplethic. Nectar production varied in volume and concentration but the differences could not be associated with floral morphs. The species is self-incompatible but reproductive success was always high and independent of floral morphs. There were differences in the site of incompatibility barriers between floral morphs, which were similar to those observed for other Rubiaceae. The main floral visitors and pollinators were the hummingbirds Colibri serrirostris and Eupetomena macroura. High fruit-set indicates that the pollinators transported enough compatible pollen grains between floral morphs, despite their territorial behavior.

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