Article
Plant Sciences
Estefania Tobajas, Virginia Dominguez-Garcia, Francisco P. Molina, Ignasi Bartomeus
Summary: The stability of ecological communities is influenced by species richness and the asynchrony of species abundance fluctuations. However, the relationship between community stability and the stability of ecosystem functioning has been little explored, especially for functions involving several trophic levels. Using data from Mediterranean shrublands and plant species, this study found that plant visitation rates stability is driven by the asynchrony of pollinator species abundances, but pollinator species richness has only an indirect effect. On the other hand, the stability of plant reproductive success is not related to the stability of pollinator visitation rates.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Tristan A. Barley, Michael G. Martinez Algarin, Jonathan T. Bauer
Summary: Research on how conspecific plant density affects pollinator visitation has conflicting results. This study investigated the effects of conspecific density on pollinator visitation in a restored prairie, finding that overall pollinator visitation rates were not affected by density. However, different groups of pollinators responded differently to flower density, with larger Bombus species visiting dense flowering patches more frequently. These results suggest that plant density may impact certain pollinators differently. Additionally, smaller bees may avoid competition with larger social bees by foraging behavior. Furthermore, flowers in large patches may be pollinated less effectively and compete rather than facilitate pollinator visits.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jakub Stenc, Lukas Janosik, Eva Matouskova, Jiri Hadrava, Michael Mikat, Zdenek Janovsky
Summary: This study investigated the diurnal patterns of pollen availability and pollinator visitation in three co-flowering plant species. The results showed that the three plant species differed in the peak pollen availability, and the pollinator activity closely matched their pollen availability.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Karen C. B. S. Santos, Manu E. Saunders, Ulrika Samnegard, Maurizio Rocchetti, Jessica Scalzo, Romina Rader
Summary: Protective covers are commonly used in agricultural systems to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events and pests on crops. A study found that variations in netting practices can affect the pollination service delivery to pollinator dependent crops. Blueberry crops experienced a reduction in pollen abundance on stigmas under full and partial netting. The composition of non-blueberry pollen on stigmas also varied between different netting categories. Overall, the study highlights the importance of understanding the impact of netting practices on pollination in agricultural systems. Rating: 8/10.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Charlotte Descamps, Anne Jambrek, Muriel Quinet, Anne-Laure Jacquemart
Summary: In the context of climate warming, alterations in plant pollination and reproductive success due to increased air temperatures constitute a significant issue. Higher temperatures negatively affect floral traits and rewards, leading to reduced flower visitation by pollinators, which could in turn decrease plant pollination rates and reproductive success under global temperature increases caused by climate change.
Article
Horticulture
Shih-Kai Lo, Chih-Yi Hu, Su-Fen Roan, Tsung-Chen Su, Iou-Zen Chen
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between flower morphology and fruit yields in tea plants and analyzed 106 tea varieties. The results showed that flower traits within the same tea plant variety were highly homogeneous. The main flower trait affecting fruit yield was stamen bundle outer width, while the secondary trait was stigma width. These traits have the potential to be used as reference indicators for early selection in future breeding programs.
Article
Ecology
Julie Faure, Valentine Volz, Simon Joly
Summary: Urbanization is changing the conditions in which species live, affecting the size and shape of floral traits. This impact can be attributed to changes in the abiotic environment as well as alterations in pollinator visitation rates.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
K. Murakami, K. R. Katsuhara, A. Ushimaru
Summary: Andromonoecy, the presence of perfect and staminate flowers in the same individual, has evolved repeatedly in angiosperms. The smaller size and higher pollen production of staminate flowers enhance pollination success, even with limited resources.
Article
Plant Sciences
Karen C. B. S. Santos, Camila S. Souza, Rafael Arruda, Andrea C. Araujo
Summary: The spatial structure and size of plant populations affect pollinator selectivity and pollen transfer. Large patches attract more flower visitors and have higher pollen flow, while small patches are important for sustaining rare floral visitors.
PLANT ECOLOGY & DIVERSITY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Roberto Danti, Sara Barberini, Vincenzo Di Lonardo, Gianni Della Rocca
Summary: The study found that male cone production in common cypress is genetically controlled with high stability across different environments. Clones with lower average male cone production have both ornamental and hypoallergenic traits, making them suitable for designing green spaces with low allergy impact.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sofia Dartnell, Andre R. O. Cavalcanti, Ayame Misaki Bluebell, Nancy Hamlett, Edward J. Crane, Wallace M. Meyer
Summary: This study investigated the insect assemblages on fall-blooming shrubs in the California sage scrub ecosystem and evaluated the efficacy of different sampling techniques. The results suggest that fall-blooming shrubs play a critical role in maintaining diverse insect and pollinator assemblages in the sage scrub ecosystem.
Article
Entomology
S. D. Divija, P. D. Kamala Jayanthi, Y. B. Varun, P. Saravan Kumar, G. Krishnarao, G. S. Nisarga
Summary: Insect pollinators play a crucial role in the survival and reproduction of radish plants. A study conducted in India found that 15 different insect species visit radish flowers for pollination, with Western honeybees and giant honeybees being the most frequent visitors. These findings highlight the importance of insect-mediated pollination for radish plants.
JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Edy Fantinato, Judit Sonkoly, Peter Torok, Gabriella Buffa
Summary: The study found a hump-shaped relationship between community-level pollinator visitation rate and the quantity of floral resources, which was consistent across different types of floral resources. The relationship between the quantity of floral resources and the structure and robustness of the network was inconsistent among different types of floral resources, with only intermediate levels of nectar volume associated with high levels of network robustness.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Simon Joly, Daniel J. Schoen
Summary: Polyphenisms are a special type of phenotypic plasticity where separate and distinct phenotypes are produced in the same genetic background. Cleistogamy, a common form of polyphenism in flowering plants, has evolved at least 41 times independently. Studies suggest that cleistogamy is associated with zygomorphic flowers and zygomorphic species are more likely to evolve cleistogamy than actinomorphic species. This supports the hypothesis that polyphenisms are favored when organisms encounter contrasting environments.
Article
Plant Sciences
Maureen L. Page, Charlie C. Nicholson, Ross M. Brennan, Anna T. Britzman, Jessica Greer, Jeremy Hemberger, Hanna Kahl, Uta Muller, Youhong Peng, Nick M. Rosenberger, Clara Stuligross, Li Wang, Louie H. Yang, Neal M. Williams
Summary: The study found that honeybees are significantly less effective than the most effective non-honeybee pollinators but are as effective as the average pollinator. The effectiveness of honeybees is moderated by the type of pollinator, showing lower effectiveness compared to the most effective and average bird and bee pollinators but similar effectiveness to other taxa. Visitation frequency and pollination effectiveness are positively correlated, with this trend being largely influenced by data from communities where honeybees were absent.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jeff Ollerton, Sigrid Liede-Schumann, Mary E. Endress, Ulrich Meve, Andre Rodrigo Rech, Adam Shuttleworth, Hector A. Keller, Mark Fishbein, Leonardo O. Alvarado-Cardenas, Felipe W. Amorim, Peter Bernhardt, Ferhat Celep, Yolanda Chirango, Fidel Chiriboga-Arroyo, Laure Civeyrel, Andrea Cocucci, Louise Cranmer, Inara Carolina da Silva-Batista, Linde de Jager, Mariana Scaramussa Depra, Arthur Domingos-Melo, Courtney Dvorsky, Kayna Agostini, Leandro Freitas, Maria Cristina Gaglianone, Leo Galetto, Mike Gilbert, Ixchel Gonzalez-Ramirez, Pablo Gorostiague, David Goyder, Leandro Hachuy-Filho, Annemarie Heiduk, Aaron Howard, Gretchen Ionta, Sofia C. Islas-Hernandez, Steven D. Johnson, Lize Joubert, Christopher N. Kaiser-Bunbury, Susan Kephart, Aroonrat Kidyoo, Suzanne Koptur, Cristiana Koschnitzke, Ellen Lamborn, Tatyana Livshultz, Isabel Cristina Machado, Salvador Marino, Lumi Mema, Ko Mochizuki, Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato, Chediel K. Mrisha, Evalyne W. Muiruri, Naoyuki Nakahama, Viviany Teixeira Nascimento, Clive Nuttman, Paulo Eugenio Oliveira, Craig I. Peter, Sachin Punekar, Nicole Rafferty, Alessandro Rapini, Zong-Xin Ren, Claudia I. Rodriguez-Flores, Liliana Rosero, Shoko Sakai, Marlies Sazima, Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, Ching-Wen Tan, Carolina Torres, Kristian Trojelsgaard, Atushi Ushimaru, Milene Faria Vieira, Ana Pia Wiemer, Tadashi Yamashiro, Tarcila Nadia, Joel Queiroz, Zelma Quirino
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paolo Biella, Asma Akter, Jeff Ollerton, Sam Tarrant, Stepan Janecek, Jana Jersakova, Jan Klecka
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Correction
Biology
Bo Dalsgaard, Jonathan D. Kennedy, Benno I. Simmons, Andrea C. Baquero, Ana M. Martin Gonzalez, Allan Timmermann, Pietro K. Maruyama, Jimmy A. McGuire, Jeff Ollerton, William J. Sutherland, Carsten Rahbek
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2019)
Review
Biology
Hilary E. Erenler, Michael P. Gillman, Jeff Ollerton
CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Paolo Biella, Asma Akter, Jeff Ollerton, Anders Nielsen, Jan Klecka
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Andre Rodrigo Rech, Jeff Ollerton, Bo Dalsgaard, Leonardo Re Jorge, Brody Sandel, Jens-Christian Svenning, Gudryan J. Baronio, Marlies Sazima
Summary: This study found that historical climate instability favored autogamy, while pollinators currently modulate the level of cross-pollination.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kit S. Prendergast, Jeff Ollerton
Summary: The study compared pollination networks between native vegetation remnants and residential gardens in an urbanized area, finding that networks in bushland remnants had higher functional integrity and network robustness, but also a higher potential for cascading extinctions if disrupted. In contrast, niche overlap between pollinators was higher in residential gardens, suggesting greater competition for resources.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joseph Millard, Charlotte L. Outhwaite, Robyn Kinnersley, Robin Freeman, Richard D. Gregory, Opeyemi Adedoja, Sabrina Gavini, Esther Kioko, Michael Kuhlmann, Jeff Ollerton, Zong-Xin Ren, Tim Newbold
Summary: Pollinating species globally are declining, driven by land use changes. Low intensity of land use can be beneficial for pollinator biodiversity, but increasing intensity leads to significant reductions in most anthropogenic land-use types, especially in urban and pasture areas. The negative impact of intensity on pollinators is particularly strong in tropical regions, with different responses among taxonomic groups.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Felipe W. Amorim, Salvador Marino, Priscila Andre Sanz-Veiga, Jeff Ollerton, Paulo Eugenio Oliveira
Summary: This study reveals the intricate pollination mechanism of the South American asclepiad Schubertia grandiflora. Despite its short floral tube, this species exhibits functional specialization on long-tongued hawkmoth pollinators. Long-tongued hawkmoths were consistently recorded as the main floral visitors and the only effective pollinators, relying on highly modified corona and gynostegium, and enlarged nectar chambers to drive visitors and pollination mechanism.
Article
Plant Sciences
P. Gorostiague, J. Ollerton, P. Ortega-Baes
Summary: Cactus pollination systems in the tropics are slightly more ecologically specialized, but show no apparent trend in functional specialization.
Article
Ecology
Kit S. Prendergast, Jeff Ollerton
Summary: Bipartite networks of flowering plants and their visitors are commonly used in ecological studies, but there is no consensus on the appropriate scale for constructing and analyzing these networks. This study compared network properties at different scales and found that the choice of scale significantly influenced network conclusions. Therefore, considering the scale of analysis is important in studying and interpreting plant-pollinator networks.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Andres N. Arce, Aoife Cantwell-Jones, Michael Tansley, Ian Barnes, Selina Brace, Victoria E. Mullin, David Notton, Jeff Ollerton, Emma Eatough, Marcus W. Rhodes, Xueni Bian, James Hogan, Tony Hunter, Simon Jackson, Ashleigh Whiffin, Vladimir Blagoderov, Gavin Broad, Steve Judd, Phaedra Kokkini, Laurence Livermore, Mahika K. Dixit, William D. Pearse, Richard J. Gill
Summary: Determining past stress in animal populations is crucial for understanding species' responses to environmental change. This study used bumblebee specimens to detect morphological proxies of stress and found that fluctuating asymmetry significantly increased over the 20th century, with warm and wet years associated with higher asymmetry. These findings provide important insights into how climate change could impact future populations of wild beneficial insects.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zubair Ahmad Rather, Jeff Ollerton, Sajad H. Parey, Shoukat Ara, Stella Watts, Manzoor Ahmad Paray, Anzar Ahmad Khuroo
Summary: This study used network analysis to investigate the structure and function of a plant-pollinator network in the understudied biodiversity hotspot of the Kashmir Himalaya. The network exhibited nestedness and modularity, and was influenced by alien species. The study also found that plant-pollinator interactions had a positive impact on the stability of the network.
Article
Ecology
Zuzanna M. Filipiak, Jeff Ollerton, Michal Filipiak
Summary: Bees play a crucial role in ecosystems and face global threats, but our understanding of their ecology and evolution is limited. This article discusses the impact of the potassium-sodium ratio on bee ecology and evolution, and highlights the importance of considering this factor in future studies to gain new knowledge and effectively protect wild bees.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jeff Ollerton, Narayan P. Koju, Sanu R. Maharjan, Bijay Bashyal
PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET
(2020)