Impact of floral traits on the reproductive success of epiphytic and terrestrial tropical orchids

Huda, Mohammed Kamrul; Wilcock, C. C.

doi:10.1007/s00442-007-0870-4

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…As in most orchids [24,25], fruit set in D. ferruginea is generally pollen-limited and an increase in pollinator visits translates into increased fecundity [21], allowing us to use relative visitation rates as a proxy for fitness.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flower colour adaptation in a mimetic orchid

2012

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Although the tremendous variability in floral colour among angiosperms is often attributed to divergent selection by pollinators, it is usually difficult to preclude the possibility that floral colour shifts were driven by non-pollinator processes. Here, we examine the adaptive significance of flower colour in Disa ferruginea, a non-rewarding orchid that is thought to attract its butterfly pollinator by mimicking the flowers of sympatric nectar-producing species. Disa ferruginea has red flowers in the western part of its range and orange flowers in the eastern part-a colour shift that we hypothesized to be the outcome of selection for resemblance to different local nectar-producing plants. Using reciprocal translocations of red and orange phenotypes as well as arrays of artificial flowers, we found that the butterfly Aeropetes tulbaghia, the only pollinator of the orchid, preferred both the red phenotype and red artificial flowers in the west where its main nectar plant also has red flowers, and both the orange phenotype and orange artificial flowers in the east, where its main nectar plant has orange flowers. This phenotype by environment interaction demonstrates that the flower colour shift in D. ferruginea is adaptive and driven by local colour preference in its pollinator.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flower colour adaptation in a mimetic orchid

2012

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“…Larger flowers may represent more powerful signals to pollinators than smaller ones and may be favored by selection in a similar manner to flower production (Waite et al 1991 ;Murren and Ellison 1996 ;Tremblay et al 2005) . The recent comparative study of Huda and Wilcock (2008) confirmed that tropical nectarless orchids have displays with larger flowers than their rewarding counterparts, irrespective of their habit.…”

Section: Large Floral Displaysmentioning

confidence: 68%

Deceptive Behavior in Plants. II. Food Deception by Plants: From Generalized Systems to Specialized Floral Mimicry

Jersáková¹,

Johnson

Jürgens³

2009

Plant-Environment Interactions

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Most of the ca. 8,000 angiosperm species that lack floral rewards are orchids pollinated by food-seeking animals. The fitness benefits of floral deception are still being debated, but most of the available evidence suggests that food deception evolves because it strongly promotes cross-pollination. These plants are generally considered to employ either generalized food deception (exploiting innate preferences of pollinators) or Batesian floral mimicry (exploiting conditioned preferences of pollinators). However, we argue that there are also intermediate conditions between these two modes and that exploitation of conditioned preferences is probably more common among food-deceptive orchids than was previously realized. We also review evidence for ecological facilitation of the pollination of deceptive species by rewarding species via the "magnet effect." We then consider the relative importance of visual and olfactory cues in food-deceptive systems. The role of scent in fooddeceptive systems, especially generalized ones, is still poorly understood, but the available evidence indicates that floral color matching is a critical component of Batesian floral mimicry.

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“…Huda & Wilcock [27] indicated that the low fruit set that occurs in tropical epiphytic orchids is associated with the combined effects of a suite of floral and population characteristics, such as rewardless flowers, non-sectile pollinia, self-incompatibility, and small population sizes. Our investigation has indicated that there are at least two mechanisms of promoting fruit set in the food-deceptive epiphytic orchids in tropical regions : …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A generalized deceptive pollination system of Doritis pulcherrima (Aeridinae: Orchidaceae) with non-reconfigured pollinaria

Jin

Ren

et al. 2012

BMC Plant Biol

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BackgroundAs one of largest angiosperm families, orchids have long fascinated evolutionary biologists with their staggering diversity in floral design and display to promote outcrossing. Two of the most intriguing aspects of orchid pollination that promote cross-pollination are pollinarium reconfiguration (PR) and deceptive pollination. PR and generalized food deception employ virtually antagonistic methods of promoting cross-pollination: PR occurs through delayed pollination, involving the relatively long visitation periods that are typically observed for the pollinators of one flower or inflorescence; conversely, generalized food deception leads to reductions in the visitation periods of pollinators to one flower or inflorescence. Thus, it is logical to hypothesize that PR is unnecessary or PR happens soon in generalized food-deceptive orchids in the promotion of cross-pollination. Using Doritis pulcherrima as a model, the aim of this study was to understand the following: (1) the pollination and breeding system of D. pulcherrima; (2) the morphological interactions between orchids and their pollinators; and (3) whether PR is necessary in the promotion of cross-pollination in D. pulcherrima.ResultsOur observations indicated that Doritis pulcherrima is pollinated almost exclusively by Amegilla nigritar (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and possesses pollinia that are deposited on the “occiputs” (cervical membranes) of these insects. All of evidences are indicated that D. pulcherrima is a generalized food-deceptive orchid. Our morphometric measurements of the flowers and pollinators show that the heights of the “occiputs” with un-oriented pollinaria were equal to the distances between stigmas and surfaces of the middle lobes, suggesting that pollinarium reconfiguration is not necessary in Doritis pulcherrima.ConclusionsOur observation and analyses supported the hypothesis that pollinarium reconfiguration is unnecessary in generalized food-deceptive orchids, such as Doritis pulcherrima, for the promotion of cross-pollination. This conclusion was indirectly supported by the abundance of deceptive orchids that do not exhibit pollinarium reconfiguration. There are two mechanisms (i.e. clone-growing characteristics and a long flowering season) that promote fruit sets in the epiphytic food-deceptive orchids in tropical regions.

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Impact of floral traits on the reproductive success of epiphytic and terrestrial tropical orchids

Cited by 22 publications

References 66 publications

Flower colour adaptation in a mimetic orchid

Flower colour adaptation in a mimetic orchid

Deceptive Behavior in Plants. II. Food Deception by Plants: From Generalized Systems to Specialized Floral Mimicry

A generalized deceptive pollination system of Doritis pulcherrima (Aeridinae: Orchidaceae) with non-reconfigured pollinaria

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