Wen Huang, Mario Vallejo-Marín, David W Inouye, Chun-Feng Yang, Zhong-Ming Ye
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract: Buzz-pollination is used by some bees to expel pollen through vibrating flowers. Yet, little is known about the determinants influencing bee preferences among buzz-pollinated flowers. We studied five co-flowering, nectarless species of Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) buzz-pollinated by bumblebees in an alpine meadow, to investigate bumblebees’ flower preferences in response to fluctuations of floral abundance across five years. We also recorded and analyzed the buzzing frequencies produced by the three dominant bumblebee specie. Our results indicate that Bombus friseanus and B. lepidus visited different Pedicularis flowers using similar buzz frequencies and displayed an abundance-dependent flower preference across years. These two bumblebee species had staggered phenologies with distinct timing of peak abundances across the five years. In contrast, B. festivus used lower fundamental buzz frequencies, had a constant flower preference across years, but used different buzz frequencies across Pedicularis species. Although the amount of pollen released after bumblebee visitation varied across Pedicularis species, we found that after a single visit all bumblebees deposited similar amounts of pollen on stigmas. Our study indicates that bumblebees’ flower preferences is sometimes, but not always, modulated by floral abundance, and that at least one bumblebee species was observed to produce buzzes of different frequencies in different plant species. Competition for floral resources among bumblebees and for pollination services among co-flowering Pedicularis species may structure plant-pollinator interactions and affect species coexistence.
期刊介绍:
Its scope covers all aspects of basic and applied research dealing with insects and more broadly with arthropods inhabiting wild, agricultural and/or urban habitats. The journal also considers research integrating various disciplines and issues within the broad field of entomology and ecology.
Entomologia Generalis publishes high quality research articles on advances in knowledge on the ecology and biology of arthropods, as well as on their importance for key ecosystems services, e.g. as biological control and pollination. The journal devotes special attention to contributions providing significant advances (i) on the fundamental knowledge and on sustainable control strategies of arthropod pests (including of stored products) and vectors of diseases, (ii) on the biology and ecology of beneficial arthropods, (iii) on the spread and impact of invasive pests, and (iv) on potential side effects of pest management methods.
Entomologia Generalis welcomes review articles on significant developments in the field of entomology. These are usually invited by the editorial board, but proposals may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief for preliminary assessment by the editorial board before formal submission to the journal. The journal also considers comments on papers published in Entomologia Generalis, as well as short notes on topics that are of broader interest.