Complex floral traits shape pollinator attraction to ornamental plants.
Ann Bot
; 130(4): 561-577, 2022 09 26.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35732011
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:
Ornamental flowering plant species are often used in managed greenspaces to attract and support pollinator populations. In natural systems, selection by pollinators is hypothesized to result in convergent multimodal floral phenotypes that are more attractive to specific pollinator taxa. In contrast, ornamental cultivars are bred via artificial selection by humans, and exhibit diverse and distinct phenotypes. Despite their prevalence in managed habitats, the influence of cultivar phenotypic variation on plant attractiveness to pollinator taxa is not well resolved.METHODS:
We used a combination of field and behavioural assays to evaluate how variation in floral visual, chemical and nutritional traits impacted overall attractiveness and visitation by pollinator taxonomic groups and bee species to 25 cultivars of five herbaceous perennial ornamental plant genera. KEYRESULTS:
Despite significant phenotypic variation, cultivars tended to attract a broad range of pollinator species. Nonetheless, at the level of insect order (bee, fly, butterfly, beetle), attraction was generally modulated by traits consistent with the pollination syndrome hypothesis. At the level of bee species, the relative influence of traits on visitation varied across plant genera, with some floral phenotypes leading to a broadening of the visitor community, and others leading to exclusion of visitation by certain bee species.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results demonstrate how pollinator choice is mediated by complex multimodal floral signals. Importantly, the traits that had the greatest and most consistent effect on regulating pollinator attraction were those that are commonly selected for in cultivar development. Though variation among cultivars in floral traits may limit the pollinator community by excluding certain species, it may also encourage interactions with generalist taxa to support pollinator diversity in managed landscapes.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Magnoliopsida
/
Flores
Tipo de estudio:
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ann Bot
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos