Pollinator effectiveness of a specialist bee exploiting a generalist plant—tracking pollen transfer by Heriades truncorum with quantum dots

Konzmann, Sabine; Kluth, Margareta; Karadana, Deniz; Lunau, Klaus

doi:10.1007/s13592-019-00700-0

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…As well as structural differences, there are also behavioural differences associated with pollen collection between bees and flies. Pollen collection in bees involves scraping, rubbing, tapping and rasping with their legs or other body parts (Thorp, 2000; Russell et al ., 2017; Konzmann et al ., 2019; Portman et al ., 2019). Hoverflies use pollen grooming and scraping routines, either while hovering or resting, to collect and consume pollen accumulated in or actively transferred to their front legs (Holloway, 1976).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of defence buzzes in hoverflies and buzz‐pollinating bees

Vallejo‐Marín

Vallejo

2020

Journal of Zoology

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Bees and many flies, particularly hoverflies (Syrphidae), have evolved a diverse range of mechanisms to gather pollen from a wide variety of flowering plants. Bees and hoverflies use protein‐rich pollen as a food resource to mature reproductive organs and eggs and, in bees, to feed their larvae. A particularly striking pollen‐collecting behaviour involves the production of thoracic vibrations to dislodge pollen from flowers. Vibratile pollen collection is widespread in bees (>11 600 species) but extremely rare in flies (~1 species of hoverfly). Why the use of floral vibrations to collect pollen is so rare among flies is currently unknown. A hypothesis proposed to explain why flies do not engage in vibratile or buzz pollination is that they are unable to reach the vibration amplitude required to expel pollen from anthers. Here we document, for the first time, the mechanical properties of non‐flight thoracic vibrations produced by hoverflies and compare them to the vibrations produced by buzz‐pollinating bees under similar contexts (defence buzzes). We analysed ~4000 vibrations produced by nearly 300 individuals representing 20 species of hoverflies and 22 bee taxa, recorded using a miniature piezoelectric accelerometer. We characterised both frequency and acceleration amplitude components of non‐flight thoracic vibrations and their relationship to insect size. Our results show that, after accounting for size, buzz‐pollinating bees and hoverflies produce vibrations with similar acceleration. We show experimentally that the acceleration amplitude produced by some hoverflies is sufficient to elicit pollen release from buzz‐pollinated flowers (Solanum dulcamara and S. rostratum). Our study does not support the hypothesis that the dearth of buzz‐pollinating flies is caused by their inability to produce vibrations of sufficient amplitude. We discuss alternative hypotheses to explain why most flies do not engage in buzz pollination and suggest that the lack of buzz‐pollinating flies might be best explained through their life history.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of defence buzzes in hoverflies and buzz‐pollinating bees

Vallejo‐Marín

Vallejo

2020

Journal of Zoology

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“…Lastly, it is important to mention that our estimates of pollinator performance are focused only in the female phase, related to pollen reception, and do not consider the male phase of pollination, which accounts for pollen removal (Thomson 2003). Differences in male phase effectiveness among pollinators can have effects on fitness (Muchhala & Thomson 2012;Konzmann et al 2020), and future studies in O. grandiflora should incorporate measures of pollen transfer efficiency to complement our findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Pollinator effectiveness in the mixed-pollination system of a Neotropical Proteaceae, <i>Oreocallis grandiflora</i>

Cárdenas-Calle

Cárdenas²,

Landázuri³

et al. 2021

J Poll Ecol

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In pollination systems with a diverse community of floral visitors, qualitative and quantitative variations in pollination effectiveness can lead to a system in which higher effectiveness results from the synergetic contribution of multiple pollinators. By employing a series of field and laboratory experiments in the south Andes of Ecuador, we compared the effectiveness of hummingbirds and nocturnal mammals visiting Oreocallis grandiflora, an Andean member of the Proteaceae. Pollinator effectiveness was measured with a quantitative component that assessed visitation rates to inflorescences and number of contacted stigmas per visit, and with a qualitative component that counted the number of deposited pollen grains in stigmas. Effectiveness estimates were complemented with controlled pollination experiments that contrasted fruit and viable seed set among flowers exposed to either diurnal or nocturnal pollination, self-pollinated flowers, and a control group with flowers exposed to naturally occurring pollination. Four species of hummingbirds and two species of nocturnal mammals visited the flowers of O. grandiflora. Hummingbirds outperformed nocturnal mammals in the quantitative components of pollination, while mammals were more effective than hummingbirds in the qualitative component. Pollination success was higher for the control group than for the other treatments, while hummingbirds and mammals performed similarly. Our findings suggest a case of functional complementarity in pollination: hummingbirds’ quantitative effectiveness complements nocturnal mammals’ qualitative effectiveness. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that pollination success in plants can be greater when flowers are visited by the whole diversity of pollinators.

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“…This study suggests that pollinators can be important agents of ecological speciation because they drive allopatry allopatric, which also contributes to reproductive isolation in sympatry. The second study assessed the pollination efficacy of a leaf cutter bee, which is a specialized Asteraceae visitor (Konzmann et al, 2019). These bees drum their hairy abdomens on the pollen presenters of daisies to collect pollen.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%