Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2025
07:19
Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
Published on: November 25, 2016
11.5K
Floral traits and their connection with pollinators and climate
Shweta Basnett1, Julia Krpan1, Anahí Espíndola1
1Department of Entomology, Plant Sciences Building 4112, 4291 Fieldhouse Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Annals of Botany
|March 19, 2024
Summary
Both pollinators and climate shape floral traits like nectar. Climate influences nectar variation, especially in interaction with pollinator identity, impacting plant evolution and conservation.
Area of Science:
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Plant-Pollinator Interactions
- Biogeography
Background:
- Floral traits exhibit significant diversity driven by multiple factors.
- Spatial variation in pollinators influences floral traits, but climate's role across large areas is understudied.
- Understanding these drivers is crucial for conservation amid global change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relative contributions of pollinators and climate to floral trait variation.
- To analyze these influences using Rhododendron species across North America and Asia.
- To inform conservation strategies for plant-pollinator interactions under changing conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Rhododendron as a model system across North America (Appalachians) and Asia (Himalayas).
- Collected data on floral traits (corolla length, nectar volume/concentration), floral visitors, and climate.
- Employed phylogeny-informed analyses to quantify climate and pollinator influences.
Main Results:
- Significant variation in pollinators (birds, bees, butterflies, flies) and floral traits observed across species and continents.
- Pollinator identity explained nectar variation: bird-pollinated flowers had dilute nectar; insect-pollinated flowers had concentrated nectar.
- Climate, interacting with pollinator identity, explained nectar trait variation in the Himalayas; phylogenetic signal detected in nectar concentration and corolla length.
Conclusions:
- Both pollinators and climate interact to drive nectar trait variation.
- These factors individually and interactively influence pollination interactions and floral evolution.
- Findings highlight the complex interplay shaping plant traits and their ecological relationships.
Related Concept Videos
02:40Pollination 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
02:19Morphogenesis
28.1K
Plant morphogenesis—the development of a plant’s form and structure—involves several overlapping developmental processes, including growth and cell differentiation. Precursor cells differentiate into specific cell types, which are organized into the tissues and organ systems that make up the functional plant.
28.1K
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
34.6K
The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.
34.6K
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
13.5K
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
13.5K
02:22Introduction to Plant Diversity
44.7K
From Water to Land
44.7K
02:27Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
6.5K
Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
6.5K