Generalized food deception: colour signals and efficient pollen transfer in bee‐pollinated species of Eulophia (Orchidaceae)

Non‐rewarding plants use a variety of ruses to attract their pollinators. One of the least understood of these is generalized food deception, in which flowers exploit non‐specific food‐seeking responses in their pollinators. Available evidence suggests that colour signals, scent and phenology may all play key roles in this form of deception. Here we investigate the pollination systems of five Eulophia spp. (Orchidaceae) lacking floral rewards. These species are pollinated by bees, notably Xylocopa (Anthophorinae, Apidae) or Megachile (Megachilidae) for the large‐flowered species and anthophorid (Anthophorinae, Apidae) or halictid (Halictidae) bees for the small‐flowered species. Spectra of the lateral petals and ultraviolet‐absorbing patches on the labella are strongly contrasting in a bee visual system, which may falsely signal the presence of pollen to bees. All five species possess pollinarium‐bending mechanisms that are likely to limit pollinator‐mediated self‐pollination. Flowering times extend over 3–4 months and the onset of flowering was not associated with the emergence of pollinators, some of which fly year round. Despite sharing pollinators with other plants and lacking rewards that would encourage fidelity, the Eulophia spp. exhibited relatively high levels of pollen transfer efficiency compared with other rewarding and deceptive orchids. We conclude that the study species employ generalized food deception and exploit food‐seeking bees. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013 , 171 , 713–729.     

Interactions between hawkmoths and flowering plants in East Africa: polyphagy and evolutionary specialization in an ecological context

Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) are considered important pollinators in tropical regions, but the frequency and degree of reciprocal specialization of interactions between hawkmoths and flowers remain poorly understood. Detailed observations at two sites in Kenya over a two‐year period indicate that adult hawkmoths are routinely polyphagous and opportunistic, regardless of their proboscis length. About 700 individuals of 13 hawkmoth species were observed visiting a wide range of plant species at the study sites, including 25 taxa that appear to be specifically adapted for pollination by hawkmoths. We estimate that 277 plant species in Kenya (c. 4.61% of the total angiosperm flora) are adapted for pollination by hawkmoths. Floral tube lengths of these plants have a bimodal distribution, reflecting the existence of two hawkmoth guilds differing in tongue length. Hawkmoths exhibited strongly crepuscular foraging patterns with activity confined to a 20‐min period at dusk and, in some cases, a similar period just before dawn. Corolla tube length appears to act as a mechanical filter as the longest‐tubed plants were visited by the fewest hawkmoth species and these were exclusively from the long‐tongued guild. Tube length showed a strong positive relationship with nectar volume, even after phylogenetic correction, which implies that plants with long corolla tubes are under selection to offer relatively large amounts of nectar to entice visits by polyphagous long‐tongued hawkmoths. Our study shows that diffusely co‐evolved pollination systems involving long‐tongued hawkmoths are clearly asymmetrical, with plants exhibiting a high degree of floral specialization, while hawkmoths exhibit polyphagous behaviour. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 110 , 199–213.     

Negative Effects of Conspecific Floral Density on Fruit Set of Two Neotropical Understory Plants

Plant reproductive success is usually positively related to conspecific floral density, but neutral or negative effects of floral density on reproduction have also been reported. Differences in the relationship between reproduction and floral density largely originate from a trade‐off between increasing attractiveness versus increasing competition for pollinators at high floral densities. Although floral densities strongly vary in the understory of tropical forests, for instance, due to variation in light availability, little is known about the density dependence of reproduction in tropical understory plants. We used path analyses to disentangle direct and indirect effects of canopy openness and floral density on fruit set and analyzed the relationship between pollen load and floral density for two Neotropical understory plants, Heliconia metallica and Besleria melancholica. In both species, fruit set was not directly related to canopy openness, but decreased with increasing floral density. In H. metallica, canopy openness had an indirect negative effect on reproduction mediated by its effects on floral density. Effects of floral density on pollen loads were species‐specific. In B. melancholica, pollen loads linearly decreased with increasing floral density, indicating competition for pollinators at high densities. In H. metallica, pollen loads were reduced at both low and high densities, indicating an interplay of facilitative and competitive effects of floral density on pollen deposition. In contrast to other studies, we found negative density dependence of reproduction in both understory species. Negative effects of floral density on reproduction appear to be related to pollinator‐mediated effects on reproduction rather than to variation in abiotic conditions.     

Nectar bacteria,but not yeast,weaken a plant–pollinator mutualism

Mutualistic interactions are often subject to exploitation by species that are not directly involved in the mutualism. Understanding which organisms act as such ‘third-party’ species and how they do so is a major challenge in the current study of mutualistic interactions. Here, we show that even species that appear ecologically similar can have contrasting effects as third-party species. We experimentally compared the effects of nectar-inhabiting bacteria and yeasts on the strength of a mutualism between a hummingbird-pollinated shrub, Mimulus aurantiacus, and its pollinators. We found that the common bacterium Gluconobacter sp., but not the common yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, reduced pollination success, seed set and nectar consumption by pollinators, thereby weakening the plant–pollinator mutualism. We also found that the bacteria reduced nectar pH and total sugar concentration more greatly than the yeasts did and that the bacteria decreased glucose concentration and increased fructose concentration whereas the yeasts affected neither. These distinct changes to nectar chemistry may underlie the microbes'' contrasting effects on the mutualism. Our results suggest that it is necessary to understand the determinants of microbial species composition in nectar and their differential modification of floral rewards to explain the mutual benefits that plants and pollinators gain from each other.     

沙丘稀有种准噶尔无叶豆花部综合特征与传粉适应性

植物花部特征进化与传粉适应性一直是进化生态学领域关注的核心问题之一。以古尔班通古特沙漠自然生长的准噶尔无叶豆为对象,对其花部特征和传粉特性进行了野外观察和室内的分析研究。结果表明:种群花期历时21 d,花序花期历时7-12 d,单花花期一般3 d,若遇阴雨天气,花期可延长1-2 d,整个花期龙骨瓣一直保持闭合状态。单花10枚花药在旗瓣微张时已全部完成散粉。准噶尔无叶豆主要靠分泌花蜜、鲜艳的花色以及旗瓣基部的黄色辐射状纹理结构吸引传粉者。准噶尔无叶豆花期的有效传粉者为4种蜂类昆虫,它们的平均访花频率为(7.75±0.57)次·花^-1·d^-1,访花高峰期表现为三峰型: 13:00-14:00,16:00-17:00和19:00-20:00。准噶尔无叶豆人工套袋实验表明该种为自交亲和型,主动自交少见,生殖成功依赖传粉者。胚珠成功受精至果实完全成熟阶段存在自交衰退,柱头角质层结构和花粉刷结构是准噶尔无叶豆在进化过程中形成的减少自交,倾向异交的机制。     

授粉处理对红富士苹果果实品质影响的综合评价

以“长富2号”红富士苹果(Malus domestica ‘Red Fuji',Nagafu No. 2)为母本,9个授粉品种为父本,进行人工授粉,研究授粉处理对红富士苹果成熟期果实品质的影响,并构建基于主成分分析的综合评价函数。结果表明:果实的花青苷、单果重、维生素C、固酸比、可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白、可滴定酸等主要经济性状,各授粉处理间差异较大,果形指数、硬度差异较小; 主成分分析提取6个主成分,累计方差贡献率达96.02%,根据主成分得分和方差相对贡献率构建综合评价函数,由综合评价函数确定9个授粉处理果实的综合品质由高到低的排序为雪球、美红、火焰、红星、道格、全家红、绚丽、荷红、粉芽。     

The function of the wild carrot's dark central floret: attract,guide or deter?

Although Charles Darwin wrote about flower polymorphism in the wild carrot, Daucus carota, the function of the conspicuous central dark floret is still unclear. We used video recordings to evaluate the functional significance of the dark central floret as a short‐distance signal for insects landing on the umbels and analyzed the location of landing points, landing orientation and visit duration. These parameters, as well as insect attraction did not differ on umbels with and without a dark central floret. Hence, we found no evidence for the role of the dark central floret in the pollination of D. carota. Umbels with a dark central floret, however, were parasitized significantly less often by the gall midge Kiefferia pericarpiicola than umbels without a dark central floret. We propose that the dark central floret may play a role in reducing parasite infestation by mimicking an already present gall or deterring oviposition of the gall midge by other means.     

The effect of different chiral morphs on visitation rates and fruit set in the orchid Spiranthes spiralis

Background: The arrangement of flowers on inflorescences is important for determining the movement of pollinators within the inflorescence and, consequently, the overall mating success and fruit set of a plant.

Aims: Spiranthes spiralis is an orchid that has a spiralled inflorescence. The species has two chiral forms that show opposite coiling directions (clockwise and anti-clockwise). We tested if this arrangement of inflorescence influences pollinator attraction and behaviour.

Methods: We surveyed two natural populations, analysed the reproductive compatibility of the two morphs and estimated pollination success in natural and experimental populations.

Results: We found that the two morphs were not isolated by pre- or post-mating barriers, occurred with a similar proportion in natural populations and showed similar levels of pollination success both in natural and artificial populations. However, we found a different pattern of pollination success along the inflorescences. In the two morphs, lower flowers experienced a higher pollination rate and this rate decreased along the inflorescence faster in anti-clockwise than in clockwise individuals.

Conclusions: This finding suggests that pollinators visit the flowers sequentially from the lower part of the inflorescences and leave the anti-clockwise individuals more rapidly than the clockwise ones. However, this pollinator behaviour is not detrimental for the pollination success of either of the two morphs.     

Trend (1999–2009) in U.S. death rates from myelodysplastic syndromes: Utility of multiple causes of death in surveillance

BackgroundFor myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (formerly known as preleukemia), a diverse group of myeloid neoplasms usually involving anemia in elderly persons, trends in U.S. death rates apparently have not been reported.MethodsTrends in annual age-standardized rates per 100,000 from 1999 to 2009 were examined for MDS using multiple causes vs. underlying cause alone, coded on death certificates for U.S. residents.ResultsThe death rate (all ages combined) for MDS increased from 1999 to 2009, from 1.62 to 1.84 using underlying cause alone and from 2.89 to 3.27 using multiple causes. Rates using multiple causes were about 80% higher than those based on underlying cause alone. From 2001 to 2004 the rate for MDS using underlying cause alone (but not using multiple causes) declined, accompanied by an increase in the rate for deaths from leukemia as underlying cause with mention of MDS; this trend coincided with the advent of the 2001 World Health Organization's reclassification of certain MDS as leukemia. The MDS rate for age 65+ years increased after 2005, whereas the rate for age 25–64 years was low but declined from 2001 to 2003 and then stabilized. For deaths with MDS coded as other than underlying cause, rates did not decline for deaths from each of the two most common causes (i.e., cardiovascular diseases and leukemia).ConclusionsEvidence for decreases in MDS-related mortality rates was limited; the increase at age 65+ years is consistent with increases in incidence rates reported from cancer registries. Using multiple causes of death vs. only the underlying cause results in substantially higher MDS-related death rates, shows the impact of changes in the classification of myeloid neoplasms and emphasizes the importance of reducing cardiovascular disease mortality in MDS patients.