[Pollinator] Flowers and pollinators
Ladadams at aol.com
Ladadams at aol.com
Tue Apr 3 15:08:54 PDT 2007
Flowers shape themselves to guide their pollinators to the pollen
Why do flowers specialize on different pollinators? For example, both bats
and hummingbirds pollinate plants in tropical forests; why adapt to just one
instead of using both? Biologists often assume that tradeoffs contribute to such
specialization (the jack of all pollinators is master of none), yet
surprisingly little evidence exists in support of this idea.
Nathan Muchhala from the University of Miami explored pollinator
specialization through experiments with bats, hummingbirds, and artificial flowers in
cloudforests of Ecuador.
In a study published in the April issue of the American Naturalist, he
reports that the fit between flower and pollinator is key: bats pollinate wide
flowers better, while hummingbirds transfer more pollen between narrow flowers.
Videotaping demonstrated that a poor fit fails to correctly guide the pollinator
while feeding. This tradeoff in adapting to bats vs. hummingbirds is strong
enough to favor specialization on one or the other.
Nathan says, "While all leaves tend to look similar, flowers come in a
spectacular variety of shapes and colors. This study suggests tradeoffs in adapting
to different pollinators may have played an important role in the evolution of
such diversity."
Source: University of Chicago
Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Coevolution Institute
423 Washington St. 5th
San Francisco, CA 94111
415 362 1137
LDA at coevolution.org
_http://www.coevolution.org/_ (http://www.coevolution.org/)
_http://www.pollinator.org/_ (http://www.pollinator.org/)
_http://www.nappc.org/_ (http://www.nappc.org/)
Bee Ready for National Pollinator Week: June 24-30, 2007. Contact us
for more information at www.pollinator.org
Our future flies on the wings of pollinators.
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