Leaf and floral heating in cold climates: do sub-Antarctic megaherbs resemble tropical alpine giants?

Little, Lorna; Eidesen, Pernille Bronken; Müller, Eike; Dickinson, Katharine J. M.; Lord, Janice M.

doi:10.3402/polar.v35.26030

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Flowers in cold environments have recently been observed to have higher temperatures than the ambient temperature [ 53 , 54 ]. For example, the subantarctic megaherbs Pleurophyllyum speciosum exhibited higher leaf and floral temperatures than ambient temperature (leaves 9° C higher, inflorescence 11° C higher than ambient temperature) [ 54 ]. Some studies suggest that flowering plants regulate temperature based on ambient temperature [ 65 , 93 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiment used a thermocouple typically employed to measure either insect body temperature or flower temperature [ 28 , 53 , 54 , 61 , 75 ]. A Voltage Sensor Data Logger (VSL) was used to record petal temperature measurements.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, studies of alpine plants suggest that flowers can accumulate heat on petal surfaces, which are then significantly warmer than canopy foliage on bright days [ 53 ]. A study by [ 54 ] found that sub-Antarctic megaherbs Pleurophyllyum speciosum exhibited higher leaf and floral temperatures than ambient temperature (leaves +9° C, inflorescence +11° C compared to ambient temperature). Both studies [ 53 , 54 ] thus suggested that insect pollinators could benefit from thermal rewards produced by flowers, which would help them to reduce the energy cost associated with flying in cool ambient temperatures [ 26 , 27 , 51 , 52 , 55 , 56 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown that different plant species can modulate their temperature using various mechanisms. For example, heliotropism (sun tracking: [ 30 , 57 – 59 ]), thermogenesis [ 60 ] and changing morphological features such as colour and shape [ 53 , 54 , 56 , 61 – 63 ] can increase intra-floral temperature to levels up to 11°C above ambient conditions. In very warm conditions, some plants may also modulate flower temperature through evaporative cooling or self-shading [ 64 ], while other plants have been shown to tightly regulate the temperature within a 2°C range using a combination of warming and cooling mechanisms [ 65 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour

et al. 2018

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Climate change has the potential to enhance or disrupt biological systems, but currently, little is known about how organism plasticity may facilitate adaptation to localised climate variation. The bee-flower relationship is an exemplar signal-receiver system that may provide important insights into the complexity of ecological interactions in situations like this. For example, several studies on bee temperature preferences show that bees prefer to collect warm nectar from flowers at low ambient temperatures, but switch their preferences to cooler flowers at ambient temperatures above about 30° C. We used temperature sensor thermal probes to measure the temperature of outdoor flowers of 30 plant species in the Southern regions of the Australian mainland, to understand how different species could modulate petal temperature in response to changes in ambient temperature and, potentially, influence the decision-making of bees in the flowering plant’s favour. We found that flower petal temperatures respond in different ways to changing ambient temperature: linearly increasing or decreasing relative to the ambient temperature, dynamically changing in a non-linear manner, or varying their temperature along with the ambient conditions. For example, our investigation of the difference between ambient temperature and petal temperature (ΔT), and ambient temperature, revealed a non-linear relationship for Erysimum linifolium and Polygala grandiflora that seems suited to bee temperature preferences. The temperature profiles of species like Hibertia vestita and H. obtusifolia appear to indicate that they do not have a cooling mechanism. These species may therefore be less attractive to bee pollinators in changing climatic conditions with ambient temperatures increasingly above 30° C. This may be to the species’ detriment when insect-pollinator mediated selection is considered. However, we found no evidence that flower visual characteristics used by bees to identify flowers at close range, such as colour or shape, were straightforward modulators of floral temperature. We could not identify any clear link to phylogenetic history and temperature modulation either. Mapping our test flower distribution on the Australian continent however, indicates a potential clustering that suggests different flower responses may constitute adaptations to local conditions. Our study proposes a framework for modelling the potential effects of climate change and floral temperature on flower pollination dynamics at local and global scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour

et al. 2018

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“…In montane forests on sunny days with very low wind speeds, meristem (not flower) temperatures can be 15 • C higher than the air temperature (Wilson et al, 1987). Analogously, a study by Little et al (2016) found that some sub-Antarctic herbs exhibited leaf and floral temperatures that were higher than the ambient temperature (leaves and inflorescences were 9 • C and 11 • C higher than the ambient temper-ature respectively).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Surface temperature of plant tissues. Which method of air temperature measurement fits best?

Litschmann¹,

Středa

2019

Contributions to Geophysics and Geodesy

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Climate change is contributing to an increased risk of flower damage by late spring frosts. Monitoring flower temperature is critical for the timely start of frost protection systems. However, there are many weak points that complicate the use of this method. The aims of this study were to: i) find the method of air temperature measurement with the best relationship to the surface temperature of plant tissues and ii) quantify the differences between plant tissues surface temperature and ambient temperature during different weather situations. The surface temperature of plant tissues (budding leaves of grapevine, apricot flower, and unripe pear fruit), air temperature and humidity in the radiation shield, wet bulb temperature and air temperature with an unsheltered thermometer were measured at ten-minute intervals in the spring months. The average temperatures obtained by the individual methods as well as the lowest temperatures were determined from each measurement. Differences between air temperatures and plant surface temperatures, including variation ranges, were also determined. An unsheltered thermometer, in which the energy balance corresponds approximately to that of the evaluated plant surfaces, provided the best relationship with plant tissue temperature. The air temperature measured by the standard method (in a Stevenson screen or in the radiation shield) was almost always higher than the temperature of the plant tissue during periods of negative energy balance. The difference between the minimum temperatures was approximately 0.5 °C. Temperatures more than 1.5 °C higher than the actual temperature of plant tissues were measured in extreme cases.

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Austral Temperate Zone: Either Neglected or Misunderstood

Mucina

2023

Biome Ecology

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Leaf and floral heating in cold climates: do sub-Antarctic megaherbs resemble tropical alpine giants?

Cited by 27 publications

References 45 publications

Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour

Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour

Surface temperature of plant tissues. Which method of air temperature measurement fits best?

Austral Temperate Zone: Either Neglected or Misunderstood

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