Honesty, reliability, and information content of floral signals

van der Kooi, Casper J.; Reuvers, Lora; Spaethe, Johannes

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107093

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…The biological marketplace is a potent model for species interactions, shaping our understanding of both the evolution of mutualisms ( 79 , 80 ) and competition among plants for pollination services ( 81 ). This microeconomic perspective has guided our understanding of resource selection by bees ( 82 , 83 ) and has shaped our view of flowers as sensory “billboards,” advertising their value via colors, patterns, and scents ( 2 , 84 , 85 ). Traditionally, the marketplace is characterized by a single currency (nectar sugar), and thus, basic questions about how nutritionally complex floral rewards structure community-level interactions have largely escaped study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nutrition is at the heart of the mutualism between bees and plants, as most flowers offer food rewards in exchange for the transfer of pollen. Yet although plant–pollinator community dynamics have received longstanding attention in relation to floral display phenotypes ( 1 , 2 ), floral nutrition is rarely considered on its own merits as a driver of these relationships. This is surprising because dietary macronutrients are known to shape foraging behavior across insect taxa ( 3 , 4 ), and bees’ morphological and behavioral adaptations to collect pollen and nectar for consumption are fundamental to our understanding of foraging economics ( 5 ) and the evolution of diet choice ( 6 , 7 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Pollen nutrition structures bee and plant community interactions

Vaudo,

Dyer,

Leonard

2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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As bees’ main source of protein and lipids, pollen is critical for their development, reproduction, and health. Plant species vary considerably in the macronutrient content of their pollen, and research in bee model systems has established that this variation both modulates performance and guides floral choice. Yet, how variation in pollen chemistry shapes interactions between plants and bees in natural communities is an open question, essential for both understanding the nutritional dynamics of plant–pollinator mutualisms and informing their conservation. To fill this gap, we asked how pollen nutrition (relative protein and lipid content) sampled from 109 co-flowering plant species structured visitation patterns observed among 75 subgenera of pollen-collecting bees in the Great Basin/Eastern Sierra region (USA). We found that the degree of similarity in co-flowering plant species’ pollen nutrition predicted similarity among their visitor communities, even after accounting for floral morphology and phylogeny. Consideration of pollen nutrition also shed light on the structure of this interaction network: Bee subgenera and plant genera were arranged into distinct, interconnected groups, delineated by differences in pollen macronutrient values, revealing potential nutritional niches. Importantly, variation in pollen nutrition alone (high in protein, high in lipid, or balanced) did not predict the diversity of bee visitors, indicating that plant species offering complementary pollen nutrition may be equally valuable in supporting bee diversity. Nutritional diversity should thus be a key consideration when selecting plants for habitat restoration, and a nutritionally explicit perspective is needed when considering reward systems involved in the community ecology of pollination.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen nutrition structures bee and plant community interactions

Vaudo,

Dyer,

Leonard

2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Signals and cues which correlate with reward quality or quantity can be considered honest as they provide accurate information on the status of rewards (van der Kooi et al 2023 ). We demonstrated that VOC emission correlated with pollen presence in one species, S. lumholtzianum .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The enclosing structures of poricidal flowers conceal pollen and always appear full, yet bees visit rewarding flowers preferentially where scent stimulates buzzing (Buchmann and Cane 1989 ; Russell et al 2017 ). As floral scent can change quickly (Farré-Armengol et al 2014 ) and bees may use this trait to discriminate between rewarding and unrewarding flowers, avoiding inconsistent or unrewarding flowers (Austin et al 2019 ; van der Kooi et al 2023 ), we hypothesise that the scent of poricidal flowers varies with pollen availability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral scent changes in response to pollen removal are rare in buzz-pollinated Solanum

Moore,

Farman,

Särkinen

et al. 2024

Planta

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Main conclusion One of seven Solanum taxa studied displayed associations between pollen presence and floral scent composition and volume, suggesting buzz-pollinated plants rarely use scent as an honest cue for foraging pollinators. Abstract Floral scent influences the recruitment, learning, and behaviour of floral visitors. Variation in floral scent can provide information on the amount of reward available or whether a flower has been visited recently and may be particularly important in species with visually concealed rewards. In many buzz-pollinated flowers, tubular anthers opening via small apical pores (poricidal anthers) visually conceal pollen and appear similar regardless of pollen quantity within the anther. We investigated whether pollen removal changes floral scent composition and emission rate in seven taxa of buzz-pollinated Solanum (Solanaceae). We found that pollen removal reduced both the overall emission of floral scent and the emission of specific compounds (linalool and farnesol) in S. lumholtzianum. Our findings suggest that in six out of seven buzz-pollinated taxa studied here, floral scent could not be used as a signal by visitors as it does not contain information on pollen availability.

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“…When a flower trait is positive correlated to the reward, it is known as honest signaling [ 3 , 4 ]. Honest signaling, which is a positive relationship between the signal and reward (reviewed in [ 5 ]), has been found within species [ 6 , 7 ], communities [ 8 ], and across ecosystems [ 9 ]. They are mostly found between floral advertisement (e.g., flower size, color, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (Iris Section Oncocyclus, Iridaceae)

Lozada-Gobilard,

Nielsen,

Sapir

2023

Plants

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Flower traits, such as flower size or color changes, can act as honest signals indicating greater rewards such as nectar; however, nothing is known about shelter-rewarding systems. Large flowers of Royal irises offer overnight shelter as a reward to Eucera bees. A black patch might signal the entrance to the tunnel (shelter) and, together with the flower size, these might act as honest signals. We hypothesize that larger flowers and black patches indicate larger tunnels, and larger tunnels will increase pollinator visits, enhancing the plants’ reproductive success. We measured seven species in a controlled environment and two species from three natural populations varying in flower size. Fruit and seed sets were assessed in these natural populations. We found a positive correlation between the flower, patch size, and tunnel volume, suggesting that the flowers and patch size act as honest signals, both under controlled conditions and in the wild. However, in natural populations, this positive relationship and its effect on fitness was population-specific. Flower size increased the fitness in YER I. petrana, and interactions between flower/patch size and tunnel size increased the fitness in YER and I. atropurpurea NET populations. This suggests that the honesty of the signal is positively selected in these two populations. This study supports the hypothesis that pollinator-mediated selection leads to the honest signaling of flower advertisement.

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Honesty, reliability, and information content of floral signals

Cited by 5 publications

References 69 publications

Pollen nutrition structures bee and plant community interactions

Pollen nutrition structures bee and plant community interactions

Floral scent changes in response to pollen removal are rare in buzz-pollinated Solanum

Flower Size as an Honest Signal in Royal Irises (Iris Section Oncocyclus, Iridaceae)

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