Ecological restoration of plant-pollinator interactions has received surprisingly little attention, despite animal-mediated pollination underpinning reproduction of the majority of higher plants. Here, we offer a conceptual and practical framework for the ecological restoration of pollination mutualisms. Through the use of targeted restoration plantings to attract and sustain pollinators and increased knowledge of the ecological requirements of pollinators, we propose that pollination could be successfully restored in degraded ecosystems. The challenge for pollination biologists is to integrate their findings with those of plant restoration ecologists to ensure sustainable pollination in restored ecosystems.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are appealing genetic markers due to several beneficial attributes, but uncertainty remains about how many of these bi-allelic markers are necessary to have sufficient power to differentiate populations, a task now generally accomplished with highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. In this study, we tested the utility of 37 SNPs and 13 microsatellites for differentiating 29 broadly distributed populations of Chinook salmon (n = 2783). Information content of all loci was determined by In and , and the top 12 markers ranked by In were microsatellites, but the 6 highest, and 7 of the top 10 ranked markers, were SNPs. The mean ratio of random SNPs to random microsatellites ranged from 3.9 to 4.1, but this ratio was consistently reduced when only the most informative loci were included. Individual assignment test accuracy was higher for microsatellites (73.1%) than SNPs (66.6%), and pooling all 50 markers provided the highest accuracy (83.2%). When marker types were combined, as few as 15 of the top ranked loci provided higher assignment accuracy than either microsatellites or SNPs alone. Neighbour-joining dendrograms revealed similar clustering patterns and pairwise tests of population differentiation had nearly identical results with each suite of markers. Statistical tests and simulations indicated that closely related populations were better differentiated by microsatellites than SNPs. Our results indicate that both types of markers are likely to be useful in population genetics studies and that, in some cases, a combination of SNPs and microsatellites may be the most effective suite of loci. Fig. 2 Chord distance (D CSE ) neighbour-joining dendrograms and self-assignment matrices of populations of Chinook salmon from North America as determined with (a) 13 microsatellites, (b) 37 SNPs, and (c) all 50 markers combined. The diagonal represents the percentage of self-assigned individuals from a population and shaded blocks above and below the diagonal indicate percentage of mis-assignments to populations corresponding with the dendrogram. Grey grid lines correspond to regional clusters in the neighbour-joining dendrogram. Shading scale at the right of each figure depicts percentage assignment in 10% increments. 3472 S . R . N A R U M E T A L .
SummarySexually deceptive orchids employ floral volatiles to sexually lure their specific pollinators. How and why this pollination system has evolved independently on multiple continents remains unknown, although preadaptation is considered to have been important. Understanding the chemistry of sexual deception is a crucial first step towards solving this mystery.The combination of gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), GC-MS, synthesis and field bioassays allowed us to identify the volatiles involved in the interaction between the orchid Drakaea glyptodon and its sexually attracted male thynnine wasp pollinator, Zaspilothynnus trilobatus.Three alkylpyrazines and one novel hydroxymethyl pyrazine were identified as the sex pheromone of Z. trilobatus and are also used by D. glyptodon for pollinator attraction. Given that our findings revealed a new chemical system for plants, we surveyed widely across representative orchid taxa for the presence of these compounds. With one exception, our chemical survey failed to detect pyrazines in related genera. Collectively, no evidence for preadaptation was found.The chemistry of sexual deception is more diverse than previously known. Our results suggest that evolutionary novelty may have played a key role in the evolution of sexual deception and highlight the value of investigating unusual pollination systems for advancing our understanding of the role of chemistry in evolution.
Caladenia is very unusual in that it contains species that attract pollinators by two different strategies, food and sexual deception. Among the sexually deceptive species, baiting for pollinators has shown that within populations orchid species are typically pollinated by a single species of thynnine wasp. However, some wasp species can be pollinators of more than one species of orchid usually when their ranges do not overlap. There is a trend for closely related orchids to exploit wasps from the same genus, with different lineages of orchids often pollinated by different genera. Very little is known about pollination of food-deceptive Caladenia species, although it is evident they attract a suite of generalist food-seeking insects. Food-deceptive species have a higher pollination rate than do sexually deceptive species. Studies of population genetics and pollen movements are few, although they suggest a pattern of fine-scale genetic structuring within populations, owing to predominantly restricted seed dispersal and low genetic differentiation among populations as a consequence of rare long-distance seed-dispersal events. Both evolutionary and ecological research of Caladenia will greatly benefit from a better understanding of the insect species involved in pollination, their ecological requirements and the ecological and genetic consequences of food and sexual deception.
Demand for restoration of resilient, self-sustaining, and biodiverse natural ecosystems as a conservation measure is increasing globally; however, restoration efforts frequently fail to meet standards appropriate for this objective. Achieving these standards requires management underpinned by input from diverse scientific disciplines including ecology, biotechnology, engineering, soil science, ecophysiology, and genetics. Despite increasing restoration research activity, a gap between the immediate needs of restoration practitioners and the outputs of restoration science often limits the effectiveness of restoration programs. Regrettably, studies often fail to identify the practical issues most critical for restoration success. We propose that part of this oversight may result from the absence of a considered statement of the necessary practical restoration science questions. Here we develop a comprehensive framework of the research required to bridge this gap and guide effective restoration. We structure questions in five themes: (1) setting targets and planning for success, (2) sourcing biological material, (3) optimizing establishment, (4) facilitating growth and survival, and (5) restoring resilience, sustainability, and landscape integration. This framework will assist restoration practitioners and scientists to identify knowledge gaps and develop strategic research focused on applied outcomes. The breadth of questions highlights the importance of cross-discipline collaboration among restoration scientists, and while the program is broad, successful restoration projects have typically invested in many or most of these themes. Achieving restoration ecology's goal of averting biodiversity losses is a vast challenge: investment in appropriate science is urgently needed for ecological restoration to fulfill its potential and meet demand as a conservation tool
Pollinator behaviour has profound effects on plant mating. Pollinators are predicted to minimise energetic costs during foraging bouts by moving between nearby flowers. However, a review of plant mating system studies reveals a mismatch between behavioural predictions and pollen-mediated gene dispersal in bird-pollinated plants. Paternal diversity of these plants is twice that of plants pollinated solely by insects. Comparison with the behaviour of other pollinator groups suggests that birds promote pollen dispersal through a combination of high mobility, limited grooming, and intra- and interspecies aggression. Future opportunities to test these predictions include seed paternity assignment following pollinator exclusion experiments, single pollen grain genotyping, new tracking technologies for small pollinators, and motion-triggered cameras and ethological experimentation for quantifying pollinator behaviour.
Summary 1. While rarely tested, the rarity of a species may be linked to the rarity of symbiotic partners. The requirement of many terrestrial plants to form a symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi may limit the distribution and abundance of plant species. Here, in just the second test of the role of mycorrhiza in host species rarity, we investigate the influence of mycorrhizal specificity, distribution and ecological requirements in the genus Drakaea (Orchidaceae). 2. In situ seed baiting was used to resolve the distribution of mycorrhizal fungi for three common and two co‐occurring rare species of Drakaea. Mycorrhizal fungi were isolated from wild adult orchids and protocorms and the ITS nrDNA regions sequenced. An in vitro study tested the range of Drakaea species of which each fungus can support germination. 3. All Drakaea species studied used a narrow monophyletic clade of Tulasnella endophyte for protocorm, seedling and adult plant stages. In situ seed baiting revealed that germination of Drakaea is largely restricted to the same microhabitat as that of the orchid. However, within this habitat Drakaea exhibit comparable germination to other Western Australian orchid genera. Rare and common Drakaea exhibited no difference in germination rates and both germinated in suitable habitat not currently occupied. 4. Synthesis. In contrast to the previous study of the role of mycorrhiza in plant rarity, there was no evidence that mycorrhizal specificity contributed to rarity in Drakaea. However, the formation of mycorrhiza being mostly restricted to a specific microhabitat may limit the abundance of Drakaea in some landscapes. In Drakaea, the highly specific pollination system of sexual deception may contribute to rarity. A trend towards high specificity in orchid mycorrhizal associations in southern Australia is hypothesized to result from the predominance of old landscapes affording the opportunity for specialization on a single or few mycorrhiza(s) best adapted to the landscape conditions.
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