Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Pollination and Flower Structure02:40

Pollination and Flower Structure

64.7K
Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.  
64.7K
Trihybrid Crosses02:27

Trihybrid Crosses

23.3K
Trihybrid Crosses
Some of Mendel’s crosses examined three pairs of contrasting characteristics. Such a cross is called a trihybrid cross. A trihybrid cross is a combination of three individual monohybrid crosses. For example, plant height (tall vs. short), seed shape (round vs. wrinkled), and seed color (yellow vs. green).
The F1 generation plants of a trihybrid cross are heterozygous for all three traits and produce eight gametes. Upon self-fertilization, these gametes have an equal...
23.3K
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

22.0K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
22.0K
Incomplete Dominance01:43

Incomplete Dominance

22.6K
Gregor Mendel's work (1822 - 1884) was primarily focused on pea plants. Through his initial experiments, he determined that every gene in a diploid cell has two variants called alleles inherited from each parent. He suggested that amongst these two alleles, one allele is dominant in character and the other recessive. The combination of alleles determines the phenotype of a gene in an organism.
22.6K
Dihybrid Crosses01:18

Dihybrid Crosses

74.9K
Overview
74.9K
Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

8.0K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
8.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Replicated repurposing of an ancestral transcriptional complex in land plants.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same author

Genome Assemblies of the Daisy Gorteria diffusa Elucidate the Molecular-Genomic Basis of Pollination by Sexual Deception.

Genome biology and evolution·2026
Same author

Infrared as a pollination signal.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025
Same author

Characterisation of cuticle mechanical properties: analysing stiffness in layered living systems to understand surface buckling patterns.

Soft matter·2025
Same author

Climatic and edaphic niche shifts during plant radiation in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot.

Annals of botany·2024
Same author

Evolution and development of complex floral displays.

Development (Cambridge, England)·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
07:19

Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea

Published on: November 25, 2016

11.5K

Strawberry varieties differ in pollinator-relevant floral traits.

Hamish A Symington1, Beverley J Glover1

  • 1Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK.

Ecology and Evolution
|February 7, 2024
PubMed
Summary

To meet rising food demands, scientists studied strawberry varieties to find flowers that better attract and reward insect pollinators. They found significant differences in traits like flower shape, which bumblebees can detect, but slowly.

Keywords:
bumblebeesfloral rewardnectarpollenpollinationstrawberry

More Related Videos

Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping
07:03

Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping

Published on: November 9, 2020

3.1K
In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors
08:50

In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors

Published on: July 16, 2018

8.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
07:19

Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea

Published on: November 25, 2016

11.5K
Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping
07:03

Establishing Pollination Requirements in Japanese Plum by Phenological Monitoring, Hand Pollinations, Fluorescence Microscopy and Molecular Genotyping

Published on: November 9, 2020

3.1K
In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors
08:50

In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors

Published on: July 16, 2018

8.2K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Agricultural Science
  • Entomology

Background:

  • Increasing global population necessitates enhanced food production, raising demand for essential insect pollination services.
  • Declining insect populations worldwide pose a significant threat to agricultural productivity and food security.
  • Optimizing crop floral traits can enhance pollinator attraction and reward, potentially mitigating pollinator declines.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify variation in key pollinator-relevant floral traits (nectar, pollen, size, shape) within commercial strawberry varieties.
  • To assess bumblebee learning and preference for floral shape variation under field-realistic conditions.
  • To evaluate the transferability of laboratory findings on bee nectar preferences to field settings.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of nectar production, pollen quantity, flower size, and flower shape across diverse commercial strawberry varieties.
  • Controlled experiments to observe bumblebee learning speed and accuracy in distinguishing extreme variations in flower shape.
  • Field-realistic assays to test bumblebee preferences for nectar with varying sugar concentrations and volumes.

Main Results:

  • Significant variation was observed in nectar production, pollen quantity, flower size, and flower shape among strawberry varieties.
  • Bumblebees demonstrated a very slow learning capacity for distinguishing extreme differences in flower shape, indicating a limit to detectability.
  • Observed bee nectar preferences at field-realistic volumes aligned with previous larger-volume studies, validating lab-to-field applicability.

Conclusions:

  • Cultivated strawberry varieties exhibit substantial diversity in traits crucial for pollinator attraction and reward.
  • Floral trait variation, particularly shape, may be near the limit of bumblebee sensory detection and learning.
  • Findings support the use of specific strawberry varieties and lab-based research to improve pollination services for agriculture.