Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2024)748
Miranda Lam, Imogen C Ryan, Lynn Dicks
English ivy (Hedera helix) is an important resource for wildlife in rural and urban ecosystems. It provides pollen and nectar for flower-visiting insects during autumn and fruits for frugivores during winter and spring. A requirement of insect pollination for fruit set in ivy implies that recent declines in pollinator populations can threaten food supply for frugivores. This study investigated the link between pollination services and the quantity and quality of fruit produced in ivy, and how that could in turn influence frugivore feeding choices, in a mixed woodland and an urban garden habitat respectively. Surveys on pollinator community and activity were conducted to assess the overall level of pollination. A set of experiments involving insect exclusion, open pollination, and extra pollen supplementation was performed to reveal the level of pollinator dependence and pollination deficit in ivy. Additionally, the removal of these fruits by frugivores was measured to test whether frugivore feeding preferences are influenced by the initial level of pollination. Our results showed that the quantity and quality (size) of fruit produced in ivy were significantly reduced under insect exclusion, which is strong evidence for pollinator dependence. Pollination deficit was also identified at both sites. Furthermore, the data indicate that frugivores can display some degree of preference for well-pollinated ivy fruits. Taken together, our study shows that declines in pollination services will have direct impacts on the availability and quality of ivy fruits for frugivores. Maintaining the health of pollinator communities in both urban and rural habitats could therefore ensure healthy ecosystem functioning.
{"title":"Pollinator dependence and pollination deficit in Hedera helix, and effects on frugivore feeding choices","authors":"Miranda Lam, Imogen C Ryan, Lynn Dicks","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2024)748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2024)748","url":null,"abstract":"English ivy (Hedera helix) is an important resource for wildlife in rural and urban ecosystems. It provides pollen and nectar for flower-visiting insects during autumn and fruits for frugivores during winter and spring. A requirement of insect pollination for fruit set in ivy implies that recent declines in pollinator populations can threaten food supply for frugivores. This study investigated the link between pollination services and the quantity and quality of fruit produced in ivy, and how that could in turn influence frugivore feeding choices, in a mixed woodland and an urban garden habitat respectively. Surveys on pollinator community and activity were conducted to assess the overall level of pollination. A set of experiments involving insect exclusion, open pollination, and extra pollen supplementation was performed to reveal the level of pollinator dependence and pollination deficit in ivy. Additionally, the removal of these fruits by frugivores was measured to test whether frugivore feeding preferences are influenced by the initial level of pollination. Our results showed that the quantity and quality (size) of fruit produced in ivy were significantly reduced under insect exclusion, which is strong evidence for pollinator dependence. Pollination deficit was also identified at both sites. Furthermore, the data indicate that frugivores can display some degree of preference for well-pollinated ivy fruits. Taken together, our study shows that declines in pollination services will have direct impacts on the availability and quality of ivy fruits for frugivores. Maintaining the health of pollinator communities in both urban and rural habitats could therefore ensure healthy ecosystem functioning.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"104 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140479287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Insect pollinators affect pollen transfer dynamics, with consequences for pollen movement and the genetic structure of plant populations. Pollen transfer dynamics has not been previously examined in flowers with a tripping mechanism. Here we examine whether pollen accumulated on a bee’s body increases with the number of Medicago sativa L. flowers tripped by Bombus impatiens Cresson during a foraging bout, while controlling for bee body size and number of visited flowers. In a second experiment, we determine whether the number of revisits to a tripped flower increases pollen deposition onto the stigmas. We set up three M. sativa plants with a controlled number of racemes in a greenhouse room, and followed individual bees as they foraged, recording each plant, raceme, and flower visited. For pollen accumulated, we collected bees at the end of their foraging bout and counted pollen grains on their body. For pollen deposition, we collected flowers with between 0 and 6 revisits and counted the pollen grains on the stigmas. The number of pollen grains on a bee’s body increased with the number of flowers tripped in a foraging bout, but was not affected by the number of flowers visited or the size of individual bees. The number of pollen grains deposited on a stigma did not increase with the number of revisits to a tripped flower. This latter result contrasts with plants without a tripping mechanism where the number of visits increases pollen deposition and seed set. Tripping affects pollen transfer dynamics and we discuss how its effect may vary with the mode of tripping.
昆虫授粉者会影响花粉传递动力学，从而对花粉移动和植物种群的遗传结构产生影响。以前从未研究过具有绊倒机制的花朵的花粉转移动态。在这里，我们研究了蜜蜂身上积累的花粉是否会随着在一次觅食过程中被 Bombus impatiens Cresson 绊倒的 Medicago sativa L. 花朵数量的增加而增加，同时控制了蜜蜂的体型和访问的花朵数量。在第二个实验中，我们确定重访被绊倒花朵的次数是否会增加花粉在柱头上的沉积。我们在温室中设置了三株总状花序数量可控的 M. sativa 植物，并在蜜蜂觅食时跟踪它们，记录每株植物、总状花序和访问的花朵。对于花粉的积累，我们在蜜蜂觅食结束时收集它们，并计算它们身上的花粉粒。对于花粉的沉积，我们收集重访次数在 0 到 6 次之间的花朵，并计算柱头上的花粉粒。蜜蜂身体上的花粉粒数量随着觅食过程中被绊倒的花朵数量的增加而增加，但并不受访问花朵数量或蜜蜂个体大小的影响。沉积在柱头上的花粉粒数量并不随重访被绊倒的花朵的次数而增加。后一种结果与没有绊倒机制的植物形成了鲜明对比，在没有绊倒机制的植物中，重访次数会增加花粉沉积和结籽。绊倒会影响花粉转移的动态，我们将讨论它的影响如何随着绊倒方式的不同而变化。
{"title":"The tripping mechanism of flowers affects pollen transfer dynamics","authors":"Molly Dieterich Mabin, Connor Slawin, Amy-Mei Lynch, F. Fragoso, Johanne Brunet","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)770","url":null,"abstract":"Insect pollinators affect pollen transfer dynamics, with consequences for pollen movement and the genetic structure of plant populations. Pollen transfer dynamics has not been previously examined in flowers with a tripping mechanism. Here we examine whether pollen accumulated on a bee’s body increases with the number of Medicago sativa L. flowers tripped by Bombus impatiens Cresson during a foraging bout, while controlling for bee body size and number of visited flowers. In a second experiment, we determine whether the number of revisits to a tripped flower increases pollen deposition onto the stigmas. We set up three M. sativa plants with a controlled number of racemes in a greenhouse room, and followed individual bees as they foraged, recording each plant, raceme, and flower visited. For pollen accumulated, we collected bees at the end of their foraging bout and counted pollen grains on their body. For pollen deposition, we collected flowers with between 0 and 6 revisits and counted the pollen grains on the stigmas. The number of pollen grains on a bee’s body increased with the number of flowers tripped in a foraging bout, but was not affected by the number of flowers visited or the size of individual bees. The number of pollen grains deposited on a stigma did not increase with the number of revisits to a tripped flower. This latter result contrasts with plants without a tripping mechanism where the number of visits increases pollen deposition and seed set. Tripping affects pollen transfer dynamics and we discuss how its effect may vary with the mode of tripping.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"10 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139525607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)756
Luisa Carvalheiro, M. Vanderplanck, Mercedes M.C. Bustamante
Human activities have substantially increased soil nutrient availability during the past decades, affecting plant community composition and plants' nutritional content. Several amino acids found in pollen, the main source of larval diet for bees, affect the development, health, and behaviour of this important group of pollinators. A better understanding of the consequences of global changes on pollen amino acid content can help explain and predict future impacts on bee populations and diversity. This is particularly relevant in regions that are highly exposed to fertilizers due to their importance for global food production, such as the Brazilian savannas (Cerrado), where soils are mostly dystrophic. Here, we use a long-term controlled fertilization experiment conducted in Cerrado and demonstrate that even after 10 years since the last fertilization addition, effects were still detectable on leaf and pollen chemical content. More specifically, pollen amino acid content of Pavonia rosa-campestris (Malvaceae), a species known to be important for the diet of several native bee species, changed because of nitrogen (N) addition. Not only did the overall amino acid content increase with N addition, but its profile was also affected, with the proportion of some amino acids increasing (e.g. isoleucine, leucine, serine, threonine), while decreasing for others (e.g. cysteine). These amino acids can have important effects on larval development and flower visitor behaviour. Further studies evaluating the effects on a diverse set of plant species and the consequent impacts on flower visitation and bee fitness are essential to better understand the full consequences of increased nitrogen availability in nutrient-limited ecosystems such as Cerrado.
{"title":"Long-term effects of nitrogen enrichment in pollen chemistry of a plant species from Brazilian savannas, Pavonia rosa campestris","authors":"Luisa Carvalheiro, M. Vanderplanck, Mercedes M.C. Bustamante","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)756","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)756","url":null,"abstract":"Human activities have substantially increased soil nutrient availability during the past decades, affecting plant community composition and plants' nutritional content. Several amino acids found in pollen, the main source of larval diet for bees, affect the development, health, and behaviour of this important group of pollinators. A better understanding of the consequences of global changes on pollen amino acid content can help explain and predict future impacts on bee populations and diversity. This is particularly relevant in regions that are highly exposed to fertilizers due to their importance for global food production, such as the Brazilian savannas (Cerrado), where soils are mostly dystrophic.\u0000Here, we use a long-term controlled fertilization experiment conducted in Cerrado and demonstrate that even after 10 years since the last fertilization addition, effects were still detectable on leaf and pollen chemical content. More specifically, pollen amino acid content of Pavonia rosa-campestris (Malvaceae), a species known to be important for the diet of several native bee species, changed because of nitrogen (N) addition. Not only did the overall amino acid content increase with N addition, but its profile was also affected, with the proportion of some amino acids increasing (e.g. isoleucine, leucine, serine, threonine), while decreasing for others (e.g. cysteine).\u0000These amino acids can have important effects on larval development and flower visitor behaviour. Further studies evaluating the effects on a diverse set of plant species and the consequent impacts on flower visitation and bee fitness are essential to better understand the full consequences of increased nitrogen availability in nutrient-limited ecosystems such as Cerrado.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-21DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)750
C. Hartfield
Farmers understand the general importance of pollinators, and through their management of cropped land and non-cropped areas on the farm they have the potential to do more than any other group to help provide habitat and food for pollinating insects. Pollinators are a continually topical issue for the media and policymakers, and against this challenging background it is not always clear what the best approaches are for farmers or land managers to take to protect and increase pollinators. What do we know about the state of pollinator populations on farmland in the UK? To what extent can the use of agri-environment measures, the maintenance and creation of other habitats, and the management of pesticide use, help protect and increase pollinator populations? This paper explores these questions by providing a farming perspective on the evidence in these areas; reflecting on what the knowns and unknowns are, and identifying where there are still gaps in the evidence that need to be plugged to better conserve and manage pollinators on farmland.
{"title":"A practitioner’s perspective on what we know about safeguarding pollinators on farmland","authors":"C. Hartfield","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)750","url":null,"abstract":"Farmers understand the general importance of pollinators, and through their management of cropped land and non-cropped areas on the farm they have the potential to do more than any other group to help provide habitat and food for pollinating insects. Pollinators are a continually topical issue for the media and policymakers, and against this challenging background it is not always clear what the best approaches are for farmers or land managers to take to protect and increase pollinators. What do we know about the state of pollinator populations on farmland in the UK? To what extent can the use of agri-environment measures, the maintenance and creation of other habitats, and the management of pesticide use, help protect and increase pollinator populations? This paper explores these questions by providing a farming perspective on the evidence in these areas; reflecting on what the knowns and unknowns are, and identifying where there are still gaps in the evidence that need to be plugged to better conserve and manage pollinators on farmland.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138951784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-17DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)746
Lucy Capstick, Jayna Connelly, Niamh M. Mchugh, John Holland
The global decline in pollinators is likely to negatively affect the yield of insect pollinated crops such as field beans (Vicia faba). To understand the impact of such declines it is important to investigate how the abundance, composition and behaviour of the pollinator community relates to crop yield. We observed pollinators (specifically Bombus spp. and Apis mellifera) foraging in field bean fields. Some bees actively pollinated flowers whereas others robbed the nectar without actively pollinating the flowers. As legitimate foraging visits are more likely to pollinate the crop, we explored infield and landscape scale factors affecting this variation in behaviour. Infield factors included sowing time (winter/spring) and plant density. Landscape factors were the area of flower-rich habitat, and of mass-flowering crops within 1 km of the bean field. We also explored how the abundance and behaviour of different functional groups (short-tongued bumblebees, long-tongued bumblebees or honeybees) responded to these factors. Finally, we assessed how the abundance and behaviour of these pollinators affected field bean yield. Pollinators were more abundant in bean crops that were spring sown and where there was a smaller area of mass-flowering crops in the landscape. Functional groups varied in their predominant foraging behaviour and in how their behaviour was influenced by external factors. There was no relationship between pollinator abundance and bean yield however the proportion of pollinators legitimately foraging was negatively related to yield. Our findings align with previous research in suggesting that the benefits of insect pollinators for field beans are context specific. Additional work is required to develop pollinator conservation measures that will facilitate crop pollination.
{"title":"Crop and landscape factors affecting variation in composition and behaviour of the pollinator community in field bean crops","authors":"Lucy Capstick, Jayna Connelly, Niamh M. Mchugh, John Holland","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)746","url":null,"abstract":"The global decline in pollinators is likely to negatively affect the yield of insect pollinated crops such as field beans (Vicia faba). To understand the impact of such declines it is important to investigate how the abundance, composition and behaviour of the pollinator community relates to crop yield.\u0000We observed pollinators (specifically Bombus spp. and Apis mellifera) foraging in field bean fields. Some bees actively pollinated flowers whereas others robbed the nectar without actively pollinating the flowers. As legitimate foraging visits are more likely to pollinate the crop, we explored infield and landscape scale factors affecting this variation in behaviour. Infield factors included sowing time (winter/spring) and plant density. Landscape factors were the area of flower-rich habitat, and of mass-flowering crops within 1 km of the bean field. We also explored how the abundance and behaviour of different functional groups (short-tongued bumblebees, long-tongued bumblebees or honeybees) responded to these factors. Finally, we assessed how the abundance and behaviour of these pollinators affected field bean yield.\u0000Pollinators were more abundant in bean crops that were spring sown and where there was a smaller area of mass-flowering crops in the landscape. Functional groups varied in their predominant foraging behaviour and in how their behaviour was influenced by external factors. There was no relationship between pollinator abundance and bean yield however the proportion of pollinators legitimately foraging was negatively related to yield. Our findings align with previous research in suggesting that the benefits of insect pollinators for field beans are context specific. Additional work is required to develop pollinator conservation measures that will facilitate crop pollination.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"29 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138966102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)728
Kathleen Evans, Jenan El-Hifnawi, Cerruti Hooks, A. Espíndola
Dependence on cross-pollination varies widely among wild and cultivated plant species. Even among crops that are less dependent on outcrossing, such as soybean (Glycine max L.), cross-pollination can improve fruit quality and commercial value. There is a growing body of literature regarding the role of insect pollination in soybean; however, there is a knowledge gap on the intersection between the reproductive system of soybean and its pollination ecology. To address this gap, we first sought to characterize the reproductive system of vegetable soybean (edamame) in terms of benefits and reliance on outcrossing using three traditional experimental pollination scenarios in field conditions: open pollination, automatic selfing (pollinator-exclusion), and hand cross-pollination (controlled crossing). We also tested whether proximity to floral supplements planted on one edge of the field affected its reproductive outputs, and surveyed the floral visitors of the crop. Overall, we found a significant increase in fruit weight among open-pollinated plants compared to those in the automatic selfing treatment, with this effect accentuated with proximity to the flower strip. Despite open pollinated flowers having 30% higher flower abortions rates compared to automatic selfing, the number of developed seeds per fruit was similar among these treatments, with open-pollination having a greater proportion of commercial grade-A fruits. Additionally, grade-A fruits in open-pollination and hand cross-pollination treatments were similar in weight, both of which were significantly heavier than those in the automatic selfing treatment. Although edamame can automatically self, our results suggest that reproductive outputs including fruit weight and number of commercial grade-A fruits are positively affected by cross-pollination and proximity to floral supplements.
野生和栽培植物物种对异花授粉的依赖程度差异很大。即使在不太依赖外交的作物中，如大豆（Glycine max L.），异花授粉也能提高果实质量和商业价值。关于昆虫授粉在大豆中的作用的文献越来越多；但是，关于大豆生殖系统与其授粉生态学之间的相互关系的知识还存在空白。为了填补这一空白，我们首先利用三种传统的田间授粉实验方案：开放授粉、自动自花授粉（授粉者排斥）和人工异花授粉（控制杂交），从效益和对异花授粉的依赖性方面描述了蔬菜大豆（毛豆）生殖系统的特征。我们还测试了靠近种植在田地一侧的花卉补充物是否会影响其生殖产量，并调查了作物的花卉访客。总体而言，我们发现与自动自交处理的植株相比，开放授粉植株的果实重量明显增加，而这种影响随着距离花带越近而越明显。尽管开放授粉的花朵流产率比自动自交的高出 30%，但这些处理中每个果实发育的种子数量相似，开放授粉的果实中 A 级商品果的比例更高。此外，开放授粉和人工异花授粉处理中的 A 级果实重量相近，都明显重于自动自交处理。虽然毛豆可以自动自交，但我们的结果表明，包括果实重量和A级商品果数量在内的生殖产量会受到异花授粉和接近花粉补充物的积极影响。
{"title":"Benefits of Cross-Pollination in Vegetable Soybean Edamame","authors":"Kathleen Evans, Jenan El-Hifnawi, Cerruti Hooks, A. Espíndola","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)728","url":null,"abstract":"Dependence on cross-pollination varies widely among wild and cultivated plant species. Even among crops that are less dependent on outcrossing, such as soybean (Glycine max L.), cross-pollination can improve fruit quality and commercial value. There is a growing body of literature regarding the role of insect pollination in soybean; however, there is a knowledge gap on the intersection between the reproductive system of soybean and its pollination ecology. To address this gap, we first sought to characterize the reproductive system of vegetable soybean (edamame) in terms of benefits and reliance on outcrossing using three traditional experimental pollination scenarios in field conditions: open pollination, automatic selfing (pollinator-exclusion), and hand cross-pollination (controlled crossing). We also tested whether proximity to floral supplements planted on one edge of the field affected its reproductive outputs, and surveyed the floral visitors of the crop. Overall, we found a significant increase in fruit weight among open-pollinated plants compared to those in the automatic selfing treatment, with this effect accentuated with proximity to the flower strip. Despite open pollinated flowers having 30% higher flower abortions rates compared to automatic selfing, the number of developed seeds per fruit was similar among these treatments, with open-pollination having a greater proportion of commercial grade-A fruits. Additionally, grade-A fruits in open-pollination and hand cross-pollination treatments were similar in weight, both of which were significantly heavier than those in the automatic selfing treatment. Although edamame can automatically self, our results suggest that reproductive outputs including fruit weight and number of commercial grade-A fruits are positively affected by cross-pollination and proximity to floral supplements.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"316 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138996518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)757
T. Brito, D. Silva, F. Contrera, M. Maués, Elder Morato
Bee pollination is an important ecosystem service related to the maintenance of many flowering plants. We evaluated the relationship between orchid bee foraging time and the density of flowering plants and whether visitation varied according to the sex and size class of bees, using Calathea mansonis as a model species. We monitored 10 plots between December 2009 and November 2010 in a forest fragment in Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil. We counted the number of flowering plants and flowers per plant and the behaviour of the observed bees. Additionally, we compared the bagged and exposed inflorescences for self-compatibility analysis. We sampled 173 orchid bees from 13 species, with Eulaema cingulata as the most abundant visitor. Eulaema (large bees) were more effective pollinators than Euglossa (small bees). We also found Eulaema polyzona individuals feeding on a Marantaceae species for the first time. The time spent by the bees visiting flowers did not differ with the density of flowering plants or the number of flowers per plant. However, flowers exposed to visitors produced 35% more seeds and 15% heavier seeds than bagged flowers. Considering plant–bee interactions, orchid bees may increase gene flow and compensate for the clonal reproduction of this herb.
{"title":"Orchid bees enhance seed set production of an understory herb in the Western Brazilian Amazon","authors":"T. Brito, D. Silva, F. Contrera, M. Maués, Elder Morato","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)757","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)757","url":null,"abstract":"Bee pollination is an important ecosystem service related to the maintenance of many flowering plants. We evaluated the relationship between orchid bee foraging time and the density of flowering plants and whether visitation varied according to the sex and size class of bees, using Calathea mansonis as a model species. We monitored 10 plots between December 2009 and November 2010 in a forest fragment in Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil. We counted the number of flowering plants and flowers per plant and the behaviour of the observed bees. Additionally, we compared the bagged and exposed inflorescences for self-compatibility analysis. We sampled 173 orchid bees from 13 species, with Eulaema cingulata as the most abundant visitor. Eulaema (large bees) were more effective pollinators than Euglossa (small bees). We also found Eulaema polyzona individuals feeding on a Marantaceae species for the first time. The time spent by the bees visiting flowers did not differ with the density of flowering plants or the number of flowers per plant. However, flowers exposed to visitors produced 35% more seeds and 15% heavier seeds than bagged flowers. Considering plant–bee interactions, orchid bees may increase gene flow and compensate for the clonal reproduction of this herb.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"26 46","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139000610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)703
Rosa A. Rodríguez-Peña, Andrea D. Wolfe
Traditionally, pollen presentation is thought to be a function of pollinator type and visitation frequency. However, despite the repeated observation that pollen presentation is influenced by flower morphology and abiotic factors, these aspects have been little studied in the wild. Here, we evaluated the effect of climate, anther morphology, and pollination syndrome on anther dehiscence time (the length of time an anther takes to fully dehisce after a flower opens). We recorded anther dehiscence time in twelve species of Penstemon including the four major anther types and the two most common pollination syndromes. We also conducted an experiment to measure the effect of humidity and temperature on anther dehiscence. We found that anther morphology was correlated with anther dehiscence time. Anthers with wide openings take the longest time to dehiscence. These results provide some support for the hypothesis that anther dehiscence time has evolved to decrease pollen wastage. Contrary to the assumption that bird-pollinated species have simultaneous pollen presentation, hummingbird-pollinated species had longer anther dehiscence time than most bee-pollinated species. The experiment revealed that high humidity and low temperature increase anther dehiscence time. Our results suggest that pollen presentation is influenced by anther morphology, pollination syndrome, and the physical environment. Optimal pollen presentation presumably maximizes conspecific pollen transfer and reduces pollen thieving.
{"title":"Effect of climate, anther morphology and pollination syndrome on pollen availability in Penstemon","authors":"Rosa A. Rodríguez-Peña, Andrea D. Wolfe","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)703","url":null,"abstract":"Traditionally, pollen presentation is thought to be a function of pollinator type and visitation frequency. However, despite the repeated observation that pollen presentation is influenced by flower morphology and abiotic factors, these aspects have been little studied in the wild. Here, we evaluated the effect of climate, anther morphology, and pollination syndrome on anther dehiscence time (the length of time an anther takes to fully dehisce after a flower opens). We recorded anther dehiscence time in twelve species of Penstemon including the four major anther types and the two most common pollination syndromes. We also conducted an experiment to measure the effect of humidity and temperature on anther dehiscence. We found that anther morphology was correlated with anther dehiscence time. Anthers with wide openings take the longest time to dehiscence. These results provide some support for the hypothesis that anther dehiscence time has evolved to decrease pollen wastage. Contrary to the assumption that bird-pollinated species have simultaneous pollen presentation, hummingbird-pollinated species had longer anther dehiscence time than most bee-pollinated species. The experiment revealed that high humidity and low temperature increase anther dehiscence time. Our results suggest that pollen presentation is influenced by anther morphology, pollination syndrome, and the physical environment. Optimal pollen presentation presumably maximizes conspecific pollen transfer and reduces pollen thieving.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"71 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138998878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-07DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)745
Saorla Kavanagh, Niamh Phelan, Neus Rodríguez-Gasol, Shannen O’ Brien, Jane C Stout, Úna Fitzpatrick
Protecting Farmland Pollinators is about identifying small actions that farmers can take that will allow biodiversity to coexist within a productive farming system. Farmers in Ireland recognise the importance of pollinators, but farmland has experienced wide-scale loss of wild pollinators over the last fifty years. By working closely with 40 farmers, management practices that benefit bees and hoverflies on Irish farmland were identified, and a whole farm pollinator scoring system was developed. Using a whole farm pollinator scorecard, farmers receive ‘pollinator points’ each year based on the amount and quality of pollinator friendly habitat maintained and/or created and, each year, farmers receive a results-based payment that relates to the points. Irish farms have great potential to improve both the quantity and quality of biodiversity friendly habitats without negatively impacting on farm productivity. Thirty-one farmers increased their score between year one and year three of the results-based payment and four farms more than tripled their score. The median whole farm pollinator score for the 40 farms increased from 25,696 in year one to 33,572 in year two (31% increase), to, 40,211 pollinator points in year three (56% increase). Each farm type (beef, dairy, mixed and arable) increased their median score over the three years and dairy and arable farms showed the largest increase. This project has helped farmers better understand and engage with nature on their land and has created a measurable system for improving habitats for biodiversity on farms that is accessible to all and has the potential to be rolled out on a wider scale.
{"title":"Protecting Farmland Pollinators: Whole Farm Scorecard - Experiences and Recommendations","authors":"Saorla Kavanagh, Niamh Phelan, Neus Rodríguez-Gasol, Shannen O’ Brien, Jane C Stout, Úna Fitzpatrick","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)745","url":null,"abstract":"Protecting Farmland Pollinators is about identifying small actions that farmers can take that will allow biodiversity to coexist within a productive farming system. Farmers in Ireland recognise the importance of pollinators, but farmland has experienced wide-scale loss of wild pollinators over the last fifty years.\u0000By working closely with 40 farmers, management practices that benefit bees and hoverflies on Irish farmland were identified, and a whole farm pollinator scoring system was developed. Using a whole farm pollinator scorecard, farmers receive ‘pollinator points’ each year based on the amount and quality of pollinator friendly habitat maintained and/or created and, each year, farmers receive a results-based payment that relates to the points.\u0000Irish farms have great potential to improve both the quantity and quality of biodiversity friendly habitats without negatively impacting on farm productivity. Thirty-one farmers increased their score between year one and year three of the results-based payment and four farms more than tripled their score. The median whole farm pollinator score for the 40 farms increased from 25,696 in year one to 33,572 in year two (31% increase), to, 40,211 pollinator points in year three (56% increase). Each farm type (beef, dairy, mixed and arable) increased their median score over the three years and dairy and arable farms showed the largest increase.\u0000This project has helped farmers better understand and engage with nature on their land and has created a measurable system for improving habitats for biodiversity on farms that is accessible to all and has the potential to be rolled out on a wider scale.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138592597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-05DOI: 10.26786/1920-7603(2023)743
Niamh M. Mchugh, Rachel Nichols, Adam McVeigh, B. Bown, Roseanne Powell, Philip Wilson, Emily Swan, John Holland
Arable field margins provide important floral resources for insect foragers. This study assessed the significance of cultivated margins and floristically enhanced margins, both English agri-environment scheme (AES) options, to foraging bumble bees (Bombus species). We examined plant foraging preferences in each habitat according to species and caste. Additionally, detailed botanical surveys were carried out to determine vascular plant densities on the study margins. Overall, our results emphasised the importance of spontaneous (Asteraceae) species emerging from the seed bank in the provision of forage across Bombus species and castes, and highlighted that Bombus foraging preferences appeared to be only weakly related to floral species densities. Although found only occasionally in high densities, the popularity of these dicots was likely due to high nectar sugar mass. Bombus queens were recorded relatively infrequently, implying that these habitats are failing to provide the preferred floral resources of all Bombus spp. queens. Queens that were observed were found to favour earlier-flowering species (e.g. Anchusa arvensis) and species with longer corollas (e.g. Vicia sativa). Worker bees across Bombus spp. showed high overlap in plant preferences (e.g. Cirsium arvense, Ononis spinosa). However, some variability in preferences between castes within a species were noted, for example, only B. terrestris/lucorum drones were found to forage on Crepis vesicaria in cultivated margins. Additionally, bumble bee abundance was only found to increase as dicot cover increased. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of continuing to utilise multiple AES types in order to fully support Bombus and other pollinating insect populations on farmland.
{"title":"Foraging preferences of bumble bee castes are weakly related to plant species cover on two arable agri-environment habitat types","authors":"Niamh M. Mchugh, Rachel Nichols, Adam McVeigh, B. Bown, Roseanne Powell, Philip Wilson, Emily Swan, John Holland","doi":"10.26786/1920-7603(2023)743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2023)743","url":null,"abstract":"Arable field margins provide important floral resources for insect foragers. This study assessed the significance of cultivated margins and floristically enhanced margins, both English agri-environment scheme (AES) options, to foraging bumble bees (Bombus species). We examined plant foraging preferences in each habitat according to species and caste. Additionally, detailed botanical surveys were carried out to determine vascular plant densities on the study margins. Overall, our results emphasised the importance of spontaneous (Asteraceae) species emerging from the seed bank in the provision of forage across Bombus species and castes, and highlighted that Bombus foraging preferences appeared to be only weakly related to floral species densities. Although found only occasionally in high densities, the popularity of these dicots was likely due to high nectar sugar mass. Bombus queens were recorded relatively infrequently, implying that these habitats are failing to provide the preferred floral resources of all Bombus spp. queens. Queens that were observed were found to favour earlier-flowering species (e.g. Anchusa arvensis) and species with longer corollas (e.g. Vicia sativa). Worker bees across Bombus spp. showed high overlap in plant preferences (e.g. Cirsium arvense, Ononis spinosa). However, some variability in preferences between castes within a species were noted, for example, only B. terrestris/lucorum drones were found to forage on Crepis vesicaria in cultivated margins. Additionally, bumble bee abundance was only found to increase as dicot cover increased. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of continuing to utilise multiple AES types in order to fully support Bombus and other pollinating insect populations on farmland.","PeriodicalId":30194,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pollination Ecology","volume":"57 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138598528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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