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Trends in Plant Science Aug 2020Ecological niches are crucial for species coexistence and diversification, but the niche concept has been underutilized in studying the roles of pollinators in plant... (Review)
Review
Ecological niches are crucial for species coexistence and diversification, but the niche concept has been underutilized in studying the roles of pollinators in plant evolution and reproduction. Pollination niches can be objectively characterized using pollinator traits, abundance, and distributions, as well as network topology. We review evidence that floral traits represent adaptations to pollination niches, where tradeoffs in trait deployment reinforce niche specialization. In turn, specialized pollination niches potentially increase speciation rates, foster species coexistence, and constrain species range limits. By linking studies of adaptation with those on speciation and coexistence, the pollination niche provides an organizing principle for research on plant reproduction, and conceptually unites these studies with fields of biology where the niche perspective is already firmly established.
Topics: Ecosystem; Flowers; Phenotype; Plants; Pollination
PubMed: 32386827
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.03.009 -
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Aug 2023Inferring insect pollination from compression fossils and amber inclusions is difficult because of a lack of consensus on defining an insect pollinator and the challenge... (Review)
Review
Inferring insect pollination from compression fossils and amber inclusions is difficult because of a lack of consensus on defining an insect pollinator and the challenge of recognizing this ecological relationship in deep time. We propose a conceptual definition for such insects and an operational classification into pollinator or presumed pollinator. Using this approach, we identified 15 insect families that include fossil pollinators and show that pollination relationships have existed since at least the Upper Jurassic (~163 Ma). Insects prior to this can only be classified as presumed pollinators. This gives a more nuanced insight into the origin and evolution of an ecological relationship that is vital to the establishment, composition and conservation of modern terrestrial ecosystems.
Topics: Animals; Pollination; Ecosystem; Insecta; Fossils; Flowers
PubMed: 37062597
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.03.008 -
Natural Product Reports Apr 2023Covering: up to September 2022Orchids are renowned not only for their diversity of floral forms, but also for their many and often highly specialised pollination... (Review)
Review
Covering: up to September 2022Orchids are renowned not only for their diversity of floral forms, but also for their many and often highly specialised pollination strategies. Volatile semiochemicals play a crucial role in the attraction of a wide variety of insect pollinators of orchids. The compounds produced by orchid flowers are as diverse as the pollinators they attract, and here we summarise some of the chemical diversity found across orchid taxa and pollination strategies. We focus on compounds that have been experimentally demonstrated to underpin pollinator attraction. We also highlight the structural elucidation and synthesis of a select subset of important orchid pollinator attractants, and discuss the ecological significance of the discoveries, the gaps in our current knowledge of orchid pollination chemistry, and some opportunities for future research in this field.
Topics: Animals; Pollination; Orchidaceae; Insecta; Pheromones; Flowers
PubMed: 36691832
DOI: 10.1039/d2np00060a -
Current Opinion in Insect Science Apr 2021Microbes (fungi, bacteria and viruses) living within flowers are hypothesized to affect pollination. We evaluate current support for this idea at each stage of the... (Review)
Review
Microbes (fungi, bacteria and viruses) living within flowers are hypothesized to affect pollination. We evaluate current support for this idea at each stage of the pollination process. Evidence to date is convincing that microbes influence pollinator attraction, but data are heavily weighted toward bumblebees and the effects of nectar yeasts. Effects of microbes on the efficacy of pollinator visits is understudied and variable outcomes from field studies suggest quality of pollinator visits, not only quantity, are likely involved. The effect of microbes on pollen performance is underappreciated. Beyond the effect of pathogenic viruses, the impacts of pollen-transmitted endophytic microbes on pollen viability or tube growth are unknown but could affect the outcome of pollen receipt. Future research integrating microbes into pollination should broaden taxonomic diversity of microbes, pollinators and plants and the processes under study.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Endophytes; Flowers; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Pollen; Pollination
PubMed: 33248285
DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.11.002 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jun 2022Nectar, the main floral reward for pollinators, varies greatly in composition and concentration. The assumption that nectar quality is equivalent to its sugar (energy)... (Review)
Review
Nectar, the main floral reward for pollinators, varies greatly in composition and concentration. The assumption that nectar quality is equivalent to its sugar (energy) concentration is too simple. Diverse non-sugar components, especially amino acids and secondary metabolites, play various roles in nutrition and health of pollinators. Many nectar compounds have indirect effects by altering the foraging behaviour of pollinators or protecting them from disease. This review also emphasizes the water component of nectar, often ignored because of evaporative losses and difficulties in sampling small nectar volumes. Nectar properties vary with environmental factors, pollinator visits and microbial contamination. Pollination mutualisms depend on the ability of insect and vertebrate pollinators to cope with and benefit from the variation and diversity in nectar chemistry. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.
Topics: Amino Acids; Plant Nectar; Pollination
PubMed: 35491604
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0163 -
PloS One 2019Some floral visitors collect nectar by piercing flower external whorls, acting as nectar robbers. They leave robbery vestiges, which can cause changes in floral...
Some floral visitors collect nectar by piercing flower external whorls, acting as nectar robbers. They leave robbery vestiges, which can cause changes in floral characteristics, including physical and chemical signals that may influence flower recognition by pollinators. If pollinating bees associate these changes with absence or reduction in nectar volume, they can avoid these flowers, negatively affecting pollination. We aimed to investigate the effect of robbery on primary and secondary attractants. Additionally, we experimentally investigated if the visual signs present in robbed flowers affect the bee pollination of this plant species by discouraging pollinator visits. This study was performed in a very common pollinator-plant-cheaters system comprised by a bee-pollinated Bignoniaceae species and a nectar-robber bee that lands on the corolla tube and makes slits at its base during the nectar robbery. We experimentally isolated the effect of nectar consumption by this nectar-robber and investigated if the slits caused by the nectar-robbers affected the floral scent emission. In addition, we experimentally evaluated the effect of visual signs (slits) associated to the nectar robbery and the effect of nectar depletion on the pollination of Jacaranda caroba (Bignoniaceae). The robbers visited around 75% of the flowers throughout the day and removed significant amounts of nectar from them. However, the damages the robbers cause did not affect floral scent emission and we did not verify significant differences on pollen deposition neither when comparing flowers with slits and control nor when comparing flowers with and without nectar. We showed that even though nectar-robbers visually honestly signal the robbery and deplete high amounts of nectar, they did not affect pollinator visitation. These results showed that presumably antagonistic interactions might in fact not be so.
Topics: Animals; Bees; Behavior, Animal; Brazil; Flowers; Plant Nectar; Pollination; Quantitative Trait Loci
PubMed: 31751426
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225252 -
Current Biology : CB Jan 2021The majority of flowering plants relies on animal pollinators for sexual reproduction and many animal pollinators rely on floral resources. However, interests of plants... (Review)
Review
The majority of flowering plants relies on animal pollinators for sexual reproduction and many animal pollinators rely on floral resources. However, interests of plants and pollinators are often not the same, resulting in an asymmetric relationship that ranges from mutualistic to parasitic interactions. Our understanding of the processes that underlie this asymmetry remains fragmentary. In this Review, we bring together evidence from evolutionary biology, plant chemistry, biomechanics, sensory ecology and behaviour to illustrate that the degree of symmetry often depends on the perspective taken. We also highlight variation in (a)symmetry within and between plant and pollinator species as well as between geographic locations. Through taking different perspectives from the plant and pollinator sides we provide new ground for studies on the maintenance and evolution of animal pollination and on the (a)symmetry in plant-pollinator interactions.
Topics: Animals; Bees; Biological Evolution; Birds; Butterflies; Feeding Behavior; Geography; Magnoliopsida; Pollination; Symbiosis
PubMed: 33497641
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.020 -
The Plant Journal : For Cell and... Aug 2020The great diversity of flowers, their color, odor, taste, and shape, is mostly a result of the metabolic processes that occur in this reproductive organ when the flower... (Review)
Review
The great diversity of flowers, their color, odor, taste, and shape, is mostly a result of the metabolic processes that occur in this reproductive organ when the flower and its tissues develop, grow, and finally die. Some of these metabolites serve to advertise flowers to animal pollinators, other confer protection towards abiotic stresses, and a large proportion of the molecules of the central metabolic pathways have bioenergetic and signaling functions that support growth and the transition to fruits and seeds. Although recent studies have advanced our general understanding of flower metabolism, several questions still await an answer. Here, we have compiled a list of open questions on flower metabolism encompassing molecular aspects, as well as topics of relevance for agriculture and the ecosystem. These questions include the study of flower metabolism through development, the biochemistry of nectar and its relevance to promoting plant-pollinator interaction, recycling of metabolic resources after flowers whiter and die, as well as the manipulation of flower metabolism by pathogens. We hope with this review to stimulate discussion on the topic of flower metabolism and set a reference point to return to in the future when assessing progress in the field.
Topics: Flowers; Fusarium; Nitrogen; Plant Nectar; Pollination
PubMed: 32410253
DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14814 -
Emerging Topics in Life Sciences Jul 2020The mutualism between plants and their pollinators provides globally important ecosystem services, but it is likely to be disrupted by global warming that can cause... (Review)
Review
The mutualism between plants and their pollinators provides globally important ecosystem services, but it is likely to be disrupted by global warming that can cause mismatches between both halves of this interaction. In this review, we summarise the available evidence on (i) spatial or (ii) phenological shifts of one or both of the actors of this mutualism. While the occurrence of future spatial mismatches is predominantly theoretical and based on predictive models, there is growing empirical evidence of phenological mismatches occurring at the present day. Mismatches may also occur when pollinators and their host plants are still found together. These mismatches can arise due to (iii) morphological modifications and (iv) disruptions to host attraction and foraging behaviours, and it is expected that these mismatches will lead to novel community assemblages. Overall plant-pollinator interactions seem to be resilient biological networks, particularly because generalist species can buffer these changes due to their plastic behaviour. However, we currently lack information on where and why spatial mismatches do occur and how they impact the fitness of plants and pollinators, in order to fully assess if adaptive evolutionary changes can keep pace with global warming predictions.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Diet; Ecosystem; Global Warming; Greenhouse Effect; Host-Parasite Interactions; Insecta; Plant Development; Plants; Pollination; Symbiosis; Temperature
PubMed: 32558904
DOI: 10.1042/ETLS20190139 -
Environmental Science & Technology Apr 2023Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) contamination is an emerging environmental and public health concern, and these particles have been reported both in aquatic and... (Review)
Review
Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) contamination is an emerging environmental and public health concern, and these particles have been reported both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Recent studies have expanded our understanding of the adverse effects of MNPs pollution on human, terrestrial, and aquatic animals, insects, and plants. In this perspective, we describe the adverse effects of MNPs particles on pollinator and plant health and discuss the mechanisms by which MNPs disrupt the pollination process. We discuss the evidence and integrate transcriptome studies to investigate the negative effects of MNPs on the molecular biology of pollination, which may cause delay or inhibit the pollination services. We conclude by addressing challenges to plant-pollinator health from MNPs pollution and argue that such harmful effects disrupt the communication between plant and pollinator for a successful pollination process.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Pollination; Microplastics; Plastics; Ecosystem; Plants; Biology
PubMed: 37068375
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07733