Floral symmetry affects bumblebee approach consistency in artificial flowers

by Brett Culbert and Jessica Forrest

Across flowering plants, many lineages have transitioned from radially symmetric flowers (with multiple planes of symmetry) to bilaterally symmetric flowers (with a single plane of symmetry). Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this trend, including the “pollen placement hypothesis”. This hypothesis reasons that a reduction in the number of planes of floral symmetry should result in more precise placement of pollen (and stigmas) onto pollinators as a result of more consistent pollinator entry into flowers. The resulting improvement in pollen-transfer efficiency should increase the plant’s potential reproductive output per unit floral reward produced. 

Read the whole summary in: English!
Read the scientific publication in JPE.

 

Bombus impatiens visiting a real bilaterally symmetric flower - a snapdragon

Thesis, deconstruction and new synthesis: the changing face of applied pollination

By Peter Kevan

Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) on

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)

Since the first 18^th Century scientific accounts of how pollination works it has risen in respectability in botany, zoology, evolution and ecology.  Pollination biology provided huge opportunities for focussed research in basic and applied sciences so that disciplinary solitudes arose.  Botany and zoology tended to be separate within biology as well as in agronomy and apiculture.  Over the history of pollination biology, which can be placed into six inter-related facets, philosophical, social, scientific, technical, political and business agendas have hampered, and continue to hamper, objective science.  Nevertheless, modern interdisciplinary approaches to pollination ecology, its inherent co-evolutionary principles, and the current “pollination” crisis have become a scientific and social unifying force that cannot but lead to new knowledge, insights and, I hope, wisdom (new synthesis). 

Read the scientific publication in JPE.

Pollination syndromes - A response to Aguilar et al.’s (2015) critique of Ollerton et al. (2009)

by Waser, Ollerton and Price

Bumble bee and butterfly in Tenerife

Pollination syndromes continue to attract much discussion and debate in the scientific literature, and in their reply to Ollerton et al.'s (2015) Journal of Pollination Ecology critique, Aguilar et al. (2015) take issue with both the critique and an earlier paper (Ollerton et al. 2009). In our response to their reply we point out that what Aguilar et al. (2015) seem to see as fatal flaws in the earlier study (Ollerton et al. 2009) are in fact no such thing, and stem from a misunderstanding of that paper. No doubt the discussion of pollination syndromes will continue for some time to come.

Read the scientific publication in JPE.