Nectar foragers contribute to the pollination of buzz‐pollinated plant species

Moquet, Laura; Bruyère, L.; Pirard, B.; Jacquemart, Anne‐Laure

doi:10.3732/ajb.1700090

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Nonetheless, Andresen ( 2019 ) also found a gradient in bumblebee species composition from the forest to the alpine. Moquet et al ( 2017 ) show that the contribution of bumblebees in the pollination of V . myrtillus differs between species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus

Olsen

Evju

Åström

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Climate change is altering the world's ecosystems through direct effects of climate warming and precipitation changes but also indirectly through changes in biotic interactions. For instance, climate-driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant-pollinator interactions, thereby influencing plant reproductive success and ultimately population dynamics of insect-pollinated plants. To better understand how the importance of insect pollination for plant fruit set varies with climate, we experimentally excluded pollinators from the partly selfing keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus along elevational gradients in the forest-tundra ecotone in central Norway. The study comprised three mountain areas, seven elevational gradients spanning from the climatically relatively benign birch forest to the colder alpine areas above the tree line, and 180 plots of 1 × 1 m, with experimental treatments allocated randomly to plots within sites. Within the experimental plots, we counted the number of flowers of V. myrtillus and counted and weighed all fruits, as well as seeds for a selection of fruits. Excluding pollinators resulted in lower fruit production, as well as reduced fruit and seed mass of V. myrtillus. In the alpine sites pollinator exclusion resulted in 84% fewer fruits, 50% lower fruit weight, and 50% lower seed weight compared to control conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the negative effect of pollinator exclusion was less pronounced in the forest compared to alpine sites, suggesting that the importance of insect pollination for seed production is lower at low elevations. Our findings indicate that the keystone species V. myrtillus is relatively robust to changes in the pollinator community in a warmer climate, thereby making it less vulnerable to climate-driven changes in plant-pollinator interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus

Olsen

Evju

Åström

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Thirty individuals per species were killed with ethyl acetate, and individually stocked. Pollen was removed from the different insect body parts with small cubes of gelatine-glycerine 53 . Pollen grains concentrated in the corbicula were removed and not included in analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We sampled pollen loads from bumblebees visiting A. napellus in the natural populations. In the lab, pollen loads were acetolysed 53 . At least 400 randomly chosen pollen grains of each of the 25 pollen loads were identified and counted under light microscopy.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male flowers of Aconitum compensate for toxic pollen with increased floral signals and rewards for pollinators

Jacquemart

Buyens

Hérent

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Many plants require animal pollinators for successful reproduction; these plants provide pollinator resources in pollen and nectar (rewards) and attract pollinators by specific cues (signals). In a seeming contradiction, some plants produce toxins such as alkaloids in their pollen and nectar, protecting their resources from ineffective pollinators. We investigated signals and rewards in the toxic, protandrous bee-pollinated plant Aconitum napellus, hypothesizing that male-phase flower reproductive success is pollinator-limited, which should favour higher levels of signals (odours) and rewards (nectar and pollen) compared with female-phase flowers. Furthermore, we expected insect visitors to forage only for nectar, due to the toxicity of pollen. We demonstrated that male-phase flowers emitted more volatile molecules and produced higher volumes of nectar than female-phase flowers. Alkaloids in pollen functioned as chemical defences, and were more diverse and more concentrated compared to the alkaloids in nectar. Visitors actively collected little pollen for larval food but consumed more of the less-toxic nectar. Toxic pollen remaining on the bee bodies promoted pollen transfer efficiency, facilitating pollination.

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“…Humidity affects the amount of nectar produced by plants and determines the concentration of sugars in it. As a rule, drought leads to an increase in the sugar content in nectar and reduces its amount (Moquet et al 2017).…”

Section: Abstract Bees Flight Activity Fruit Trees Sunflower White Ac...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Productive flight activity of bees in the active period in the conditions of Vinnytsia region

Razanova

Kucheriavy

Tsaruk

et al. 2021

JABB

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Nectar foragers contribute to the pollination of buzz‐pollinated plant species

Cited by 14 publications

References 90 publications

Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus

Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus

Male flowers of Aconitum compensate for toxic pollen with increased floral signals and rewards for pollinators

Productive flight activity of bees in the active period in the conditions of Vinnytsia region

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