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<DIV><FONT size=2>An intriguing piece of research that shows how plants help
pollinators stand on the flowers while foraging.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Matthew</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>*******************************************</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From: ABC (Australia), <A
href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/05/15/2570469.htm?site=science&topic=latest">http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/05/15/2570469.htm?site=science&topic=latest</A></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-VARIANT: small-caps"><FONT size=3>Plant cells help
bees get a grip<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=date><FONT
size=2>Friday, 15 May 2009<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Dani Cooper, <SPAN
class=author>ABC<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Flowers pollinated
by insects have evolved special cells on their petals to help bees stay put
while they are feeding, say <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place>
researchers.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Plus, bees can learn
to prefer flowers that are easier to hold on to.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>The findings,
published online today in the journal <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Current Biology</I>, settles the debate over
why these conical cells exist.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Lead author Dr
Beverley Glover of the Department of Plant Sciences at the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, says scientists had long
recognised that most flowers have surface cells on their petals that are shaped
like little cones or pyramids.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Yet no one knew what
they were for, she says.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"There were all
these complicated ideas about how they might enhance light capture and make the
petal look a brighter colour, or enhance the temperature of the flower and
therefore increase nectar secretion, or maybe affect the way scents are
released," she says.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"It turns out that
they're just providing a bit of grip to make life easier for
pollinators."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>For the study,
Glover and her colleagues tested the behaviour of bumblebees as they attempted
to feed off fake epoxy snapdragon petals that had bitter and sweet
"nectars".</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>The only difference
between the petals was the shape of the surface cells.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT
size=2>Velcro-like<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>In laboratory tests,
the team found the bees, which had never seen a flower before, "learned" to
recognise the shape of petal cells via touch and quickly began to prefer the
conical-shaped models.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"To start with they
visit both flower types equally, but within 20 to 30 landings on flowers they
learn to target the conical-celled ones," says Glover.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>She says the special
cells allow a "Velcro-like" grip between the pollinator's middle feet and the
flower.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>On flowers without
the cells the bees cannot get a foothold and they are "continually scrabbling
while the bee drinks, and the wings continue beating".</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"That all makes it
hard to keep the proboscis in the nectar and also wastes energy," says Glover.
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Glover says about
80% of flowers studied have these conical cells and she expects the findings
will apply to other bee and flower species.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"I strongly suspect
that all pollinators that actually land on the flower (other bees, butterflies,
flies, beetles) will prefer conical cells, while hovering pollinators
(hummingbirds, moths) won't care."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT size=2>Plant
adaptation<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Bee researcher, Dr
Katja Hogendoorn, of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Adelaide</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, says the findings are
"beautiful" and open up a whole new dimension of morphological
research.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>In particular,
Hogendoorn says plants might adapt these conical cells so as to attract
particular bee species.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"Bees range between
1.5 millimetres and 4 centimetres in length and can have wide and slender
'feet', placed wide apart or close together," she says. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"That is the
equivalent of the variation between a rabbit and an elephant."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Hogendoorn says
certain plants are highly adapted to certain bee species to encourage them to
move between flowers of the same species for cross-pollination.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"Does the intricate
structure of conical cells support this specialisation? Is its structure and
placement variable between plants depending on the bee species, size and
morphology?" she asks. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>Glover agrees the
findings do raise questions such as how these cells evolved and whether they
target certain pollinators.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>She believes the
results might also have applications in agriculture.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"You can imagine
that it might be possible to optimise petal cell shape to encourage pollinators
to visit crop plants that rely on animal pollination, such as fruit trees," she
says.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>"[But] this would
need an analysis of what the petals currently look like and what pollinates
them."</FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT size=1><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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size=1>To </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a
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href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</A>.</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Matthew Shepherd</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Senior Conservation Associate</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215,
USA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233
6794</FONT></DIV>
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