Interactions between plants and their pollinators has been discussed in the past very frequently. Since the Darwinian times, the topic flourished. There are two aspects that have an important role in this relationship that have been affected by the history. The first being the floral mechanisms and the ecological relationships between plants and the second are the evolutionary processes that affect the pollination (1). As the interest progressed, the approaches became more specific and detailed which led to a more fine scaled insight into plant-pollinator relationship specialization. Due to specific interactions between the plant and its pollinator a terminology of a ‘plant syndrome’ has been introduced, which gives a possibility to distinguish the way a plant has been pollinated (2). Some even suggest that the latitude and high specificity of interactions lead to specialization of the pollination patterns because every region requires varied behavioural patterns (3) as seen in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Relationships between latitude and pollinator specialisation for the community survey and asclepiad data sets. a. Community surveys of plant-flower visitor relationships. Mean number of species of flower visitors per plant species has been log transformed. Pearson’s product moment correlation: r=0.33, df=33, p=0.051. b. Pollinators of asclepiads. Spearman rank correlation: r=0.33, n=91, p=0.002. c. ollinators of asclepiads, corrected for sampling effort. Spearman rank correlation: r=0.09,n=59, p=0.51.
Tylianakis et al (2008) suggested that the pollinator interaction networks might be prone to changes due to the anthropogenic influence. The climate change, habitat fragmentation, pesticide and pollution levels have a potential effect...
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5. National Research Council. 2007. Status of pollinators in North America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
6. VÁZQUEZ, D.P. and AIZEN, M.A., 2003. Null model analyses of specialization in plant-pollinator interactions. Ecology, 84(9), pp. 2493-2501.
7. BURKLE, L.A., MARLIN, J.C. and KNIGHT, T.M., 2013. Plant-pollinator interactions over 120 years: Loss of species, co-occurrence, and function. Science, 340(6127), pp. 1611-1615.
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9. CRESSWELL, JE. 2005. Accurate theoretical prediction of pollinator-mediated gene dispersal Ecology 86: 574–578.
10. SNOW AA, SPIRA TP, Simpson R, Klips RA. 1996. The ecology of geitonogamous pollination. In: Lloyd DG, Barrett SCH. eds. Floral biology: studies on floral evolution in animal-pollinated plants. New York:Chapman and Hall, 191–216.
Wise, M. J., Abrahamson, W. G., & Cole, J. A. (2010).The role of nodding stems in the goldenrod–gall–fly interaction: A test of the “ducking” hypothesis. Manuscript submitted for publication, Available from American Journal of Botany. (0900227)Retrieved from http://www.amjbot.org/content/97/3/525.full
A population of Plantago lanceolata (ribwort plantain) on the path was found to have higher trampling tolerance than populations away from the path; this reflected the sharp differences in the conditions of the plant at these sites. Ribwort Plant had generally a higher tolerance to trampling than any other plants as more were found on the path, but there were less compared with other plants as distance increased from the path. These results suggest that the competition level found on the path was sufficient enough to impose a selection pressure for the evolution of tolerance in a sensitive species, but in some areas the distribution of Ribwort Plantain were the same. This provides that other conditions affect the tolerance of trampling for Ribwort Plantain.
The next topic for discussion in this paper is ecology. This will include, preferred habitats and interactions with abiotic and biotic elements of the environment.
diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of
Think for a moment of a world without bees; a world without our buzzing friend. They might look like they barely do much to help our ecosystem. However, bees are a vital part of our agriculture and this makes it vital that we keep them around. The bee population decline in recent years is troubling for both us and our little friends. As their friends, we must do all we can in order to ensure their survival which in turn will ensure our own.
Humans have long recognized that flowers are an indication of future fruits. Therefore it was vital for nomadic hunters to remember where in the wild they saw flowers. And further yet each type of flower produced a specific fruit. Thus fruits and flowers had something in common; the preference of one fruit meant the preference of a type of flower. Most often, as in modern times, the most healthy looking flower shows signs that it will produce quality fruit. The beauty of a flower told hunters that a nutritious fruits would ripen after the flowers bloomed. This concept explains how we have evolved toward preferring healthy looking flowers. But how does this explain the security of a plants reproduction? It is necessary to mention that plants not only produce fruits to stop herbivores from eating the plant, but in their own diabolic plan, plants found a new way to spread their seeds through fruits. Herbivores would eat the fruits an...
Our livestock depend on bee-pollinated plants like grain. Poorly pollinated plants produce fewer fruits and seeds, leading to higher prices (New Agriculturist, n.d.). Some crops are entirely dependent on pollinators such as almonds and others are 90 percent dependent on blueberries and cherries (ABF, 2015). Bees give us honey and we use this honey in food, shampoo, and moisturizers (Mercola, 2015). Bees pollinate 70 out of our 100 major crops; that includes apples, cucumbers, pumpkins, and many more.
Others include birds, butterflies, and the wind; however, honey bees, by far, are the best at pollinating plants. Collecting pollen is their whole life’s purpose, according to Michigan State University’s article, “Native Plants and Ecosystem Services”. Over one hundred forty three million acres of plants in America are sprayed with a bee-killing insecticide that has been banned in Europe by the European Food Safety Authority (Sarich). Promote ecological farming, and ban all bee-harming pesticides.
Flowering plants have two main reproductive parts; the male part is called the stamen and produces pollen, while the female part is called the pistil. For pollination to occur, the pollen must be transferred from the stamen to the pistil. This transfer can occasionally be caused by wind, but it is most often facilitated by animals called pollinators. Pollinators do not intentionally set out to fertilize flowers; rather, they unintentionally spread pollen while roaming from plant to plant in search of food. There are many different species – including birds, butterflies, and bats – that act as pollinators, and many of these species are also suffering declines in population. However, honeybees are the most pr...
Willmer, P.. Ecology: Pollinator – Plant Synchrony Tested by Climate Change. Current Biology. Volume 22, Issue 4, 21 Feb 2012, Pages R131 – R132.
Coevolution may be defined as an evolutionary change in a trait of the individuals in one population in response to a trait of the individuals of a second population, followed by an evolutionary response by the second population to the change in the first (Janzel, 1980). Plant animal coevolution is a very broad topic with many different areas and examples therefore this essay will be focused on the evidence of coevolution between grasses and herbivores. Key questions explored will be how is coevolution studied,
An example of mutualism in nature is the bee and the flower. A bee’s job is to assist in pollinating plants. The bee pollinating benefits the flower because the pollen is then used to fertilize the flower by rubbing pollen on the tip of the pistil, which is the flowers female reproductive organ. This can cause the development of a fruit and carrying seeds. The pollen from
Insect pollination as we all know, is the process that enables reproduction and fertilization by the transfer of pollen performed by insects. Insects are some of the oldest pollinators of plants. Pollinating insects date back to 140 million years ago. Since then, due to how effective insect pollinators are, these flowering plants have become the major group of terrestrial vascular plants. Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, have imperative roles within our ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. For instance, insects provide food, fiber and shelter for wildlife and humankind alike (2007). It is commonly know that in humans, high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption are associated with decreased risk of chronic disease (Calderone 2012). Aside from these important roles, plants have also been considered as a viable option for fuel sources (Calderone 2012). There are around 300,00 species of flowering plants in the world and without pollination, the reproductive process would be very difficult since pollination causes the production of seeds (Calderone 2012). Of the 300,000 plant species worldwide, a little over 3,000 of these plants have been used as a source of food. Close to 300 of these species are grown around the world today and only 12 of these plants make up about 90 percent of the food sources in our world. These 12 include the grains...
Pollination, the transfer of pollen from one flower to another, is a keystone process in both human-managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. Pollination is one of the most important mechanisms in the maintenance and promotion of biodiversity and, in general, life on Earth. It is an ecosystem process that has evolved over millions of years to benefit both flowering plants and pollinators. Pollination is critical for food production and human livelihood and directly links wild ecosystem with agricultural production system. It plays an important role both in our survival and the existence of nearly all ecosystems on earth. Many ecosystems, including many agro-ecosystems, depend on pollinator diversity
Over the past decade bee populations have been dropping drastically. A 40% loss of honeybees happened in the U.S. and U.K. lose 45% of its commercial honeybee since 2010. This is a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in which worker bees from a beehive abruptly disappear in a short time. These data are definitely not meaningless since bees are a crucial part of the reproductive cycle of many foods. The impact bees have on the agriculture and the environment is far more crucial than we may think. Crops rely on bees to assist their reproduction and bring them life. Bees are renowned in facilitating pollination for most plant life, including over 100 different vegetable and fruit crops. Without bees, there would be a huge decrease in pollination, which later result in reduce in plant growth and food supplies. On the other hand, without the pollination progressed with the assistance from bees, the types of flowers According to Dr. Albert Einstein, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination…no more men”. That’s why bees’ extinction affects people more than we ever think, and could even forebode the doom day of human race.