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1
Alfawwaz, Muhammad Dzaky, Agus Dana Permana e Ramadhani Eka Putra. "Diversity and Abundance of Insects Pollinator of Chayote (Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz". Jurnal Biodjati 7, n. 1 (30 maggio 2022): 36–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.15575/biodjati.v7i1.13881.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Chayote plants (Sechium edule) with monoecious characters require a pollination process. The pollination process requires pollinating agents to increase its productivity, one of which is insects. This research aimed to determine the diversity and abundance of insects pollinator on chayote plants. Observation of diversity and abundance used a scan sampling method. Pollinator insects observations were carried out in 3 time periods, morning, afternoon, and evening on male and female flowers. We measured environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and light intensity. Eight species of wild insects pollinated chayote flowers, Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Lasioglossum leucozonium, Polistes sagittarius, Phimenes flavopictus, Campsomeriella annulata, Lucilia sericata, and Musca domestica. The insect pollinators community had moderate diversity (1.23), a relatively dynamic community (0.59), and moderate dominance (0.62), with A. cerana, which had been the dominant insect pollinator with a relative abundance of 61.63%. Musca domestica and L. sericata were (0,58%) the least dominant insect pollinator with a relative abundance of 0.58%. This research concludes that the insects pollinator of chayote has a moderate level of diversity, relatively dynamic community, and average dominance.
2
Eeraerts, Maxime, Lieve Borremans, Guy Smagghe e Ivan Meeus. "A Growers’ Perspective on Crop Pollination and Measures to Manage the Pollination Service of Wild Pollinators in Sweet Cherry Cultivation". Insects 11, n. 6 (15 giugno 2020): 372. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11060372.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Recent declines in insect pollinators and the increasing dependence on insect pollination in agriculture present major challenges to ensuring future food production. As part of the effort to deal with this challenge, there is a pressing need to understand growers’ perceptions with regard to pollinator diversity and crop pollination management. At present, many growers are dependent on domesticated honey bees (Apis mellifera), however, targeted management strategies involving naturally occurring pollinator species might be necessary to ensure future crop pollination. In this study we used semi-structured interviews to explore growers’ knowledge about crop pollination and current practices to manage insect pollination in sweet cherry cultivation. Our findings suggest that growers have a clear understanding of the importance of pollination and its determining factors. However, with respect to their current pollination management, growers depend mainly on honey bees and only apply measures to enhance wild pollinator communities to a limited extent. Our study highlights the gap between the growers’ perception of the contribution of wild pollinators to crop pollination, and their efforts to manage these species. We conclude that this is due to a lack of communication of recent scientific findings on the contribution of pollinating insects to crop pollination through the information channels that are being used by growers today. It is therefore crucial that scientists, government and other stakeholders work together with growers and communicate scientific evidence as well as practical guidelines to growers.
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NUGROHO, ARI, TRI ATMOWIDI e SIH KAHONO. "Diversitas Serangga Penyerbuk dan Pembentukkan Buah Tanaman Kakao (Theobroma cacao L.)". Jurnal Sumberdaya Hayati 5, n. 1 (24 giugno 2019): 11–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.29244/jsdh.5.1.11-17.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an entomophilous plant which is need insects for pollination. Pollinator insects increase cocoa’s fruit set. The aim of this research were to study diversity of pollinator insects, visiting activity of fly, Forcipomyia (Diptera), and fruit set of cocoa. Observation of pollinator insects was conducted by scan sampling method. Visiting activity of Forcipomyia were observed based on duration visit per flower, number of flowers visited per minute, and duration of activity on flowers. Pollen load on body of Forcipomyia were measured. Pollination effectiveness of insect were measured from the number and size of the cocoa fruit. Result showed that 19 species of insects visitors on cocoa flowers were observed. Nine species are pollinator of cocoa’s plants i.e. Forcipomyia, Cecidomyia, Stilobezzia, Drosophila, Orimarga, Dolichoderus, Pheidole, Megachile, and Nomia. Cocoa pollination by insects produced 3% fruit higher than flowers without insect pollination. Pollination by insects produced size and weight of fruit, and number of seed per fruit were higher than pollination without insects.
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Kusuma, Ramadhani Mahendra, e Wiwin Windriyanti. "Effective Behavior of Insects Pollinators of Flowers in Gadung Mango Clone 21 Variety". Jurnal Ilmu Pertanian Indonesia 27, n. 4 (25 ottobre 2022): 596–605. http://dx.doi.org/10.18343/jipi.27.4.596.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Pollinating insects are referred as support services, namely services by the processes in the ecosystems that support human well-being by maintaining or enhancing ecosystem services. The availability of flowers, diversity, and behavior of visiting pollinator insects affect the effectiveness of pollination to increase the formation of fruit sets of mango plants. The purpose of this study is to observe the behavior of pollinator insects visiting the mango gadung clone 21 varieties and their effectiveness in increasing the formation of fruit sets. Research has been carried out on two flower seasons: March-May (Off season) and July-September (On season) 2020. Visiting behaviors observed were the number of visits per minute (foraging rate) and the length of visit per flower (flower handling time). Pollination effectiveness was measured from the number of fruit sets formed from the open flower panicles and confined with a tangerine gauze. The results of the study obtained seven species including Apis sp., Trigona sp., Xylocopa sp., Polistes sp. 1, Polistes sp. 2, Chrysomya sp., and Eristalis sp. Visits of pollinating insects on the highest number of mango panicle flowers were (31.69 ± 7.69) flowers / 60 seconds by Trigona sp insects, and the lowest numbers were (2.70 ± 0.67) flowers / 60 seconds by Eristalis sp. insects. The longest visits of pollinator insects on mango flowers were obtained by Eristalis sp for (25.3 ± 8.50) sec/individual/flower and the shortest visits were by Trigona sp for (1.8 ± 0.63) seconds/individual/flower. Insect pollination increases fruit formation by 267.5%.
Keywords: insect visits, pollinating insects, fruit formation, gadung 21 varieties mango
5
Kleiman, Blaire M., Suzanne Koptur e Krishnaswamy Jayachandran. "Weeds Enhance Pollinator Diversity and Fruit Yield in Mango". Insects 12, n. 12 (13 dicembre 2021): 1114. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12121114.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Agriculture is dependent on insect pollination, yet in areas of intensive production agriculture, there is often a decline in plant and insect diversity. As native habitats and plants are replaced, often only the weeds or unwanted vegetation persist. This study compared insect diversity on mango, Mangifera indica, a tropical fruit tree dependent on insect pollination, when weeds were present in cultivation versus when they were removed mechanically. The pollinating insects on both weeds and mango trees were examined as well as fruit set and yield in both the weed-free and weedy treatment in South Florida. There were significantly more pollinators and key pollinator families on the weedy mango trees, as well as significantly greater fruit yield in the weedy treatment compared to the weed-free treatment. Utilizing weeds, especially native species, as insectary plants can help ensure sufficient pollination of mango and increase biodiversity across crop monocropping systems.
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Reyes, Hortensia Cabrera, David Draper e Isabel Marques. "Pollination in the Rainforest: Scarce Visitors and Low Effective Pollinators Limit the Fruiting Success of Tropical Orchids". Insects 12, n. 10 (23 settembre 2021): 856. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12100856.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
A single plant might be visited by many flower visitors but not all might act as pollinators. Legitimate pollinators might also differ considerably in their efficiency, limiting pollination success. Unsuitable climatic conditions such as rain also affect pollinator activity. However, in the evergreen rainforest there is no prolonged dry season and flowering occurs usually under rain. Here, we explore the dependence on pollinators and the efficiency of flower visitors for the fruiting success of 10 Andean rainforest orchids. All species were self-compatible but strictly pollinator-dependent. Overall, we found low levels of fruit set in control flowers while experimental geitonogamous and cross-pollinations increased fruit set, revealing extensive pollination limitation in all populations. Seed viability dropped considerably after self and geitonogamous pollinations suggesting the possibility of early-acting inbreeding depression. Even though we monitored flower visitors on an extensive survey, few visitors were seen in these species and even fewer acted as legitimate pollinators. Thus, even though orchid pollination might be extremely diversified, these results show that few visitors are pollinating these species, explaining the low levels of fruit set recorded in the area studied.
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Allifah AF, Asyik Nur, Farida Bahalwan e Nur Alim Natsir. "Keanekaragaman Dan Kelimpahan Serangga Polinator Pada Perkebunan Mentimun (Cucumis sativus L) Desa Waiheru Ambon". Biosel: Biology Science and Education 9, n. 1 (31 maggio 2020): 26. http://dx.doi.org/10.33477/bs.v9i1.1314.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Pollinator insects are insects that play a role in pollination, namely intermediaries pollinating plants. The purpose of this study was to determine the abundance and diversity of insects pollinators in the Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L) Plantation of Waiheru Village, Baguala District, Ambon City. Sampling was done by purposive sampling using a yellow glue trap (Yellow sticky trap). The customer observations are made in visual control. Observation starts at 07.00 WIT until 18.00 WIT which is divided into 3 time periods, namely: 07.00-10.00 WIT, 11.00-14.00 WIT and 15.00-18.00 WIT. The data obtained were analyzed using the diversity index (H ') according to Shannon and Wiener. The results showed that the total abundance of pollinator insects in vegetable plantations was 1220 individuals, consisting of 3 orders and 5 families. Insect families that play a role in the process of pollination are Family Apidae, Formicidae, Syrpidae, Muscidae and Papilionidae. The highest abundance of insects is dominated by the Formicidae Family while the lowest abundance is the Papilionidae Family. Value insect pollinator diversity found among the sites that H '= 1.21 which indicates that the level of diversity of insect pollinators on plantations Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L) in the Waiheru Village, Baguala District, Ambon City in the medium category.
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Wayo, Kanuengnit, Chama Phankaew, Alyssa B. Stewart e Sara Bumrungsri. "Bees are supplementary pollinators of self-compatible chiropterophilous durian". Journal of Tropical Ecology 34, n. 1 (gennaio 2018): 41–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467418000019.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract:Nocturnally foraging insects may be supplementary pollinators to chiropterophilous plant species when bats are scarce. Given that insects are much smaller than bats, they may be more effective at transferring pollen for plant species with similar stamen and pistil lengths, such as the ‘Monthong’ durian cultivar. The present study clarifies the role of insects in pollinating the ‘Monthong’ cultivar by examining the floral biology, conducting pollination treatments on 19 trees and observing floral visitors in southern Thailand. Stigmas were receptive by 17h00, and over 50% of ‘Monthong’ anthers had dehisced by 17h30. Several bee species began foraging on flowers during the late afternoon, and the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) continued to visit throughout the night. Our results show that at 4 wk after pollination, the highest fruit set occurred from hand-crossed pollination (13.5%), followed by open pollination (5.5%), insect pollination (3.3%) and automatic autogamy (2.0%), indicating that this cultivar is highly self-incompatible. Moreover, insects appear to be important pollinators of ‘Monthong’ durian in areas where nectar bats visit infrequently. One bee species in particular,Apis dorsata, commonly foraged on flowers at dusk and appears to be the most effective insect pollinator of durian. Our findings highlight that nocturnally foraging bees are capable of securing pollination for night-blooming plant taxa, even those typically considered to be bat-pollinated.
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Labandeira, Conrad C. "The Paleobiology of Pollination and its Precursors". Paleontological Society Papers 6 (novembre 2000): 233–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1089332600000784.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Perhaps the most conspicuous of associations between insects and plants is pollination. Pollinating insects are typically the first and most obvious of interactions between insects and plants when one encounters a montane meadow or a tropical woodland. The complex ecological structure of insect pollinators and their host plants is a central focus within the ever-expanding discipline of plant-insect interactions. The relationships between plants and insects have provided the empirical documentation of many case-studies that have resulted in the formulation of biological principles and construction of theoretical models, such as the role of foraging strategy on optimal plant-resource use, the advantages of specialized versus generalized host preferences as viable feeding strategies, and whether “pollination syndromes” are meaningful descriptions that relate flower type to insect mouthpart structure and behavior (Roubik, 1989; Ollerton, 1996; Waser et al., 1996; Johnson and Steiner, 2000). Much of the recent extensive discussion of plant-insect associations has centered on understanding the origin, maintenance, and evolutionary change in plant/pollinator associations at ecological time scales and increasingly at longer-term macroevolutionary time intervals (Armbruster, 1992; Pellmyr and Leebens-Mack, 1999). Such classical plant-insect association studies—cycads and cycad weevils, figs and fig wasps, and yuccas and yucca moths—were explored at modern time scales and currently are being examined through a long-term geologic component that involves colonization models based on cladogenetic events of plant and insect associates, buttressed by the fossil record (Farrell, 1998; Pellmyr and Leebens-Mack, 1999; A. Herre,pers. comm.). In addition to tracing modern pollination to the earlier Cenozoic and later Mesozoic, there is a resurgence in understanding the evolutionary history of earlier palynivore taxa (spore, prepollen and pollen consumers), which led toward pollination as a mutualism (Scott et al., 1992).
10
Li, Nannan, Yizhao Huang, Wei Li e Shufa Xu. "Virome Analysis Reveals Diverse and Divergent RNA Viruses in Wild Insect Pollinators in Beijing, China". Viruses 14, n. 2 (24 gennaio 2022): 227. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v14020227.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Insect pollinators provide major pollination services for wild plants and crops. Honeybee viruses can cause serious damage to honeybee colonies. However, viruses of other wild pollinating insects have yet to be fully explored. In the present study, we used RNA sequencing to investigate the viral diversity of 50 species of wild pollinating insects. A total of 3 pathogenic honeybee viruses, 8 previously reported viruses, and 26 novel viruses were identified in sequenced samples. Among these, 7 novel viruses were shown to be closely related to honeybee pathogenic viruses, and 4 were determined to have potential pathogenicity for their hosts. The viruses detected in wild insect pollinators were mainly from the order Picornavirales and the families Orthomyxoviridae, Sinhaliviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Flaviviridae. Our study expanded the species range of known insect pollinator viruses, contributing to future efforts to protect economic honeybees and wild pollinating insects.
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Vaz, Carlos G., Domingos de Oliveira e Orlando S. Ohashi. "Pollinator Contribution to the Production of Cowpea in the Amazon". HortScience 33, n. 7 (dicembre 1998): 1157–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.33.7.1157.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp., is a very important legume in the diet of the population of the Amazon. Although it is autogamous, this species has a cross-pollination rate of ≈10%. Over several years, the mean productivity of cowpea has declined. We suggest that this is linked to a decrease in or an absence of pollinating insects in the fields. The objective of this study is to ascertain the pollinator contribution to cowpea production, as well as to determine the pollination type of the `BR3-Tracuateua' cultivar. In an experimental design, four treatments were compared: no pollination, with flowers in cages to prevent insect visits; open-pollination, with flowers exposed to all visiting insects; self-pollination, with flowers pollinated with their own pollen; and cross-pollination, with emasculated flowers being pollinated manually with pollen from another plant. We observed higher fruit set in the presence of pollinators (83%) than in their absence (77%, caged flowers). However, cross-pollination reduced both the number of seeds per pod and fruit set relative to self-pollination. This result suggests that pollinators have a complementary role in the yield of cowpea, by creating a mixed pollination system where self-pollination dominates.
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Cunningham, Saul A., Frances FitzGibbon e Tim A. Heard. "The future of pollinators for Australian agriculture". Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 53, n. 8 (2002): 893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ar01186.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Agriculture in Australia is highly dependent on insect pollination, in particular from the introduced western honeybee, Apis mellifera. Most agricultural pollination is provided as an unpaid service by feral A. mellifera and native insects. A smaller proportion of agricultural pollination is provided as a paid service by beekeepers. Insect pollination is threatened by misuse of insecticides and the loss of remnant vegetation, but most potently by the likelihood that the honeybee mite, Varroa destructor, will enter the country. Now is the time to prepare for the effect of these changes, and international experience with pollinator decline should serve as a guide. We need to protect and manage our remnant vegetation to protect wild pollinators. Insurance against declining A. mellifera will come through the development of management practices for alternative pollinator species. By developing native insects as pollinators we can avoid the risks associated with the importation of additional introduced species.
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Mahy, Grégory, Jacques De Sloover e Anne-Laure Jacquemart. "The generalist pollination system and reproductive success of Calluna vulgaris in the Upper Ardenne". Canadian Journal of Botany 76, n. 11 (1 novembre 1998): 1843–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b98-133.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Although specialist pollination systems are often thought to be the outcome of selection, wide evidence exists for generalization within plant-pollinator interactions. We studied the pollination system and reproductive success of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull over 3 years in an Upper Ardennes site in Belgium. A wide variety of insect visitors was recorded including Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera. Relative abundance of families and species of visitors varied markedly among years except for bees. Bumblebees and honeybees were the most efficient pollinators at the study site. Syrphid flies, mainly large ones, acted as important co-pollinators because of their high relative frequency. Calluna pollen was also dispersed by wind, and insect-exclusion experiments demonstrated that wind pollination contributed to reproductive success. Following open pollination, fruit set was high, ranging from 82.0 to 97.2% and independent of sampling location. Mean seed number per fruit was less than maximum potential seed number and varied strongly among sampling locations. We discuss this pollination system (generalist insect and wind) in terms of the ecological and geographical success of the species.Key words: Calluna vulgaris, pollinator visitation, insects, wind pollination, reproductive success.
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Oriani, Aline, Paulo T. Sano e Vera L. Scatena. "Pollination biology of Syngonanthus elegans (Eriocaulaceae - Poales)". Australian Journal of Botany 57, n. 2 (2009): 94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt08119.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Studies on the pollination biology of Eriocaulaceae are scarce although particularly interesting because of its inclusion in the Poales, a predominantly wind-pollinated order. The pollination biology of Syngonanthus elegans (Bong.) Ruhland was studied during two annual flowering periods to test the hypothesis that insect pollination was its primary pollination system. A field study was carried out, including observations of the morphology and biology of the flowers, insect visits and pollinator behaviour. We also evaluated seed set, seed germination and seedling development for different pollination modes. Although seeds were produced by self-pollination, pollination by small insects contributed most effectively to the reproductive success of S. elegans, resulting in the greatest seed set, with the highest germination percentage and optimum seedling vigour. The floral resources used by flower visitors were pollen and nectar that was produced by staminate and pistillate flowers. Self-pollination played a minor role and its consequence was inbreeding depression.
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Howard, Scarlett R., Malika Nisal Ratnayake, Adrian G. Dyer, Jair E. Garcia e Alan Dorin. "Towards precision apiculture: Traditional and technological insect monitoring methods in strawberry and raspberry crop polytunnels tell different pollination stories". PLOS ONE 16, n. 5 (14 maggio 2021): e0251572. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251572.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Over one third of crops are animal pollinated, with insects being the largest group. In some crops, including strawberries, fruit yield, weight, quality, aesthetics and shelf life increase with insect pollination. Many crops are protected from extreme weather in polytunnels, but the impacts of polytunnels on insects are poorly understood. Polytunnels could reduce pollination services, especially if insects have access issues. Here we examine the distribution and activity of honeybees and non-honeybee wild insects on a commercial fruit farm. We evaluated whether insect distributions are impacted by flower type (strawberry; raspberry; weed), or distance from polytunnel edges. We compared passive pan-trapping and active quadrat observations to establish their suitability for monitoring insect distribution and behaviour on a farm. To understand the relative value of honeybees compared to other insects for strawberry pollination, the primary crop at the site, we enhanced our observations with video data analysed using insect tracking software to document the time spent by insects on flowers. The results show honeybees strongly prefer raspberry and weed flowers over strawberry flowers and that location within the polytunnel impacts insect distributions. Consistent with recent studies, we also show that pan-traps are ineffective to sample honeybee numbers. While the pan-traps and quadrat observations tend to suggest that investment in managed honeybees for strawberry pollination might be ineffective due to consistent low numbers within the crop, the camera data provides contrary evidence. Although honeybees were relatively scarce among strawberry crops, camera data shows they spent more time visiting flowers than other insects. Our results demonstrate that a commercial fruit farm is a complex ecosystem influencing pollinator diversity and abundance through a range of factors. We show that monitoring methods may differ in their valuation of relative contributions of insects to crop pollination.
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Hall, John A., e Gimme H. Walter. "Pollination of the Australian cycad Cycas ophiolitica (Cycadaceae): the limited role of wind pollination in a cycad with beetle pollinator mutualists, and its ecological significance". Journal of Tropical Ecology 34, n. 2 (marzo 2018): 121–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467418000111.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract:Cycads in the Zamiaceae are well known for their host-specific insect pollination mutualisms. Pollination of Cycas in the sister family Cycadaceae is less well-documented, with beetle pollination possibly coexisting with a limited potential for wind pollination, a hypothesis we tested for C. ophiolitica in Central Queensland, Australia. Cones were associated with three species of beetle: an undescribed weevil (Curculionidae), Hapalips sp. (Erotylidae) and Ulomoides sp. (Tenebrionidae). Pollination-vector exclusion experiments compared the pollination success (quantified as % ovules pollinated per cone) of control cones against bagged or netted cones that excluded wind or insects respectively (n = 10 for all treatments). Insects do pollinate C. ophiolitica in the absence of wind, the median (first quartile-third quartile) pollination success of control plants being 83.7% (60.8–87.2%) while bagged cones, from which wind, but not insects, were excluded, pollinated at 52.9% (19.5–74.8%). For netted cones, (excluding insects but not wind), pollination fell to 12.6% (10.9–45.9%). Airborne pollen (as quantified by capture on a series of adhesive pollen traps) decreased rapidly with distance from male cones, potentially becoming ineffective for wind pollination at ~5 m. Airborne pollen load in the vicinity of female cones, and distance of females from neighbouring males, suggests wind pollination may occur sporadically, but only at high spatial densities. Although Cycas appears to be primarily insect pollinated, this limited potential for ambophily may be significant given the history of dispersal and pollinator host shifts among these cycads.
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SITOMPUL, AIDA FITRIANI, ELIDA HAFNI SIREGAR, DEWI IMELDA ROESMA, DAHELMI DAHELMI e EKO PRASETYA. "Molecular identification of coffee (Coffea arabica) pollinator insects in North Sumatra, Indonesia based on designed COI primers". Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity 19, n. 5 (21 settembre 2018): 1876–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d190540.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Sitompul F, Siregar EH, Roesma DI, Dahelmi, Prasetya E. 2018. Molecular identification of coffee (Coffea arabica) pollinator insects in North Sumatra, Indonesia based on designed COI primers. Biodiversitas 19: 1877-1883. Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is one of the most important economic commodities in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Insects associated with pollination of C. arabica are one of the key factors for successful cultivation of C. arabica, but, the research regarding of these was still limited. The population of coffee plant is scattered across the highlands of Indonesia and the pollination of C. arabica is strongly believed linked to a diverse group of pollinating insects. However, lack of taxonomic identification of insects pollinating these plants has become one of constraints to succeed the cultivation of C. Arabica. This study aimed to analyze types and variations of pollinating insects of C. arabica in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia, using DNA barcoding. DNA barcoding is now considered an alternative method of molecular identification. Sixteen of C. arabica flower visitors were captured in different planting location in North Sumatra province. Using mtDNA markers, the cytochrome oxidase subunit sequence I (COI), about 12 pollinator insect species were identified based on the COI sequence i.e Amegilla cingulata, Apis dorsata, Apis cerana, Trigona chanchamayoensis, Idiella divisa, Dolichopodidae sp., Allactoneura sp., Stomorhina discolor, Phytomia erratica, Rhiniidae sp., Melipona bicolor, and Hymenoptera sp.
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Scaven, Victoria L., e Nicole E. Rafferty. "Physiological effects of climate warming on flowering plants and insect pollinators and potential consequences for their interactions". Current Zoology 59, n. 3 (1 giugno 2013): 418–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/59.3.418.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract Growing concern about the influence of climate change on flowering plants, pollinators, and the mutualistic interactions between them has led to a recent surge in research. Much of this research has addressed the consequences of warming for phenological and distributional shifts. In contrast, relatively little is known about the physiological responses of plants and insect pollinators to climate warming and, in particular, how these responses might affect plant-pollinator interactions. Here, we summarize the direct physiological effects of temperature on flowering plants and pollinating insects to highlight ways in which plant and pollinator responses could affect floral resources for pollinators, and pollination success for plants, respectively. We also consider the overall effects of these responses on plant-pollinator interaction networks. Plant responses to warming, which include altered flower, nectar, and pollen production, could modify floral resource availability and reproductive output of pollinating insects. Similarly, pollinator responses, such as altered foraging activity, body size, and life span, could affect patterns of pollen flow and pollination success of flowering plants. As a result, network structure could be altered as interactions are gained and lost, weakened and strengthened, even without the gain or loss of species or temporal overlap. Future research that addresses not only how plant and pollinator physiology are affected by warming but also how responses scale up to affect interactions and networks should allow us to better understand and predict the effects of climate change on this important ecosystem service.
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Mangla, Yash, e Rajesh Tandon. "Insects facilitate wind pollination in pollen-limited Crateva adansonii (Capparaceae)". Australian Journal of Botany 59, n. 1 (2011): 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt10174.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Low fruit-set in obligately outbreeding plant species is attributed to a variety of reasons that can be ascertained from reproductive studies. In the present work, the causes of poor natural fruit-set in Crateva adansonii DC. were investigated. Floral biology, the role of wind and insects in pollination and the breeding system of the species were studied in two natural populations for three consecutive seasons (2006–08). The flowers exhibited traits conducive to a mixture of wind and insect pollination (ambophily). Although a variety of insects visited the flowers, they were ineffective in pollinating. Nevertheless, active foraging by the honeybees (Apis dorsata, A. mellifera and A. cerana indica) facilitated enhanced pollen dispersal in the air and resulted in indirect pollination by wind. Airborne pollen grains pollinated the plants only up to 10 m. Fruit-set from open pollination was comparable to wind-pollinated flowers. Supplemental pollination treatments established the occurrence of strong self-incompatibility (SI) (index of SI = 0.14). Spontaneous autogamy was prevented by pronounced herkogamy. Low natural fecundity in C. adansonii is due to pollination failure, pollen limitation (pollen limitation index = 0.98) and the sparse distribution of the conspecifics; partial SI may partly ensure reproductive assurance through geitonogamy. In the absence of a pollinator wind appears to act as a secondary mode of pollination.
20
Nancy, NP, MR Amin, MRU Miah e MG Miah. "Native Insect Pollinators and Their Effect on Sweet Gourd Production". Annals of Bangladesh Agriculture 23, n. 1 (15 giugno 2020): 63–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/aba.v23i1.51474.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
The study was conducted in the field laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh during September 2016 to June 2017 to know the insect pollinators of sweet gourd, their behavior and their role on sweet gourd yield and seed quality. The study showed that ten species of insects belong to seven families in three orders (Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera) were found as pollinator. The abundance of the pollinator species ranged from 0.1±0.1 to 2.2±0.3 per 30 sweeps. The cabbage butter fly and ant showed statistically similar and higher abundance compared to other insect pollinators. The foraging durations of the frequently abundant pollinators ranged from 16.8 ± 2.2 to 36.6 ± 4.4 S per flower and ant spent the longest duration. Insect pollination showed the highest number of fruit plant-1, yield ha-1 and seed fruit-1 both in winter and summer season compared to natural and hand pollination. Production of fruit, seed set and yield of insect pollinating plot in winter and summer seasons were 6.4 ± 0.3 and 4.8 ± 0.2 plant-1, 84.8 ± 2.7 and 62.6 ± 1.0 fruit-1, and 18.5 ± 0.8 and 16.7 ± 0.7 t ha-1, respectively. The findings indicated that the native insect pollinators increased the production of fruit, seed and yield of sweet gourd. Conserving and enhancing native insect pollinators may boost sweet gourd production in Bangladesh.
Ann. Bangladesh Agric. (2019) 23(1) : 63-68
21
Elisante, Filemon, Patrick Ndakidemi, Sarah E. J. Arnold, Steven R. Belmain, Geoff M. Gurr, Iain Darbyshire, Gang Xie e Philip C. Stevenson. "Insect pollination is important in a smallholder bean farming system". PeerJ 8 (20 ottobre 2020): e10102. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10102.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Background Many crops are dependent on pollination by insects. Habitat management in agricultural landscapes can support pollinator services and even augment crop production. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many low-income countries, particularly so in East Africa. While this crop is autogamous, it is frequently visited by pollinating insects that could improve yields. However, the value of pollination services to common beans (Kariasii) yield is not known. Methods We carried out pollinator-exclusion experiments to determine the contribution of insect pollinators to bean yields. We also carried out a fluorescent-dye experiment to evaluate the role of field margins as refuge for flower-visitors. Results Significantly higher yields, based on pods per plant and seeds per pod, were recorded from open-pollinated and hand-pollinated flowers compared to plants from which pollinators had been excluded indicating that flower visitors contribute significantly to bean yields. Similarly, open and hand-pollinated plants recorded the highest mean seed weight. Extrapolation of yield data to field scale indicated a potential increase per hectare from 681 kg in self-pollinated beans to 1,478 kg in open-pollinated beans indicating that flower visitors contributed significantly to crop yield of beans. Our marking study indicated that flower-visiting insects including bees, flies and lepidopterans moved from the field margin flowers into the bean crop. Overall, these results show that insect pollinators are important for optimising bean yields and an important food security consideration on smallholder farms. Field margin vegetation also provides habitat for flower-visiting insects that pollinate beans. Hence, non-crop habitats merit further research focusing on establishing which field margin species are most important and their capacity to support other ecosystem services such as natural pest regulation or even pests.
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Freitas, B. M., e R. J. Paxton. "The role of wind and insects in cashew (Anacardium occidentale) pollination in NE Brazil". Journal of Agricultural Science 126, n. 3 (maggio 1996): 319–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021859600074876.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
SUMMARYThe pollination requirements of cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), an andromonoecious tree, were studied in NE Brazil, where cashew is indigenous. It was shown through the use of bagging and caging experiments, controlled hand-pollination and emasculation of flowers, that the wind plays little role in cashew pollination and that cashew is self-fertile, although only pollen from the large stamen, either male or hermaphrodite-derived, can effect pollination. Insects appear to be the major pollinators of cashew, in agreement with the pollination syndrome suggested by the morphology of its flowers. Direct observations of insects visiting flowers and counts of pollen grains adhering to such insects suggest that the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), although a non-native insect, is the major pollinator of commercially grown cashew in NE Brazil.
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Tamburini, Giovanni, Francesco Lami e Lorenzo Marini. "Pollination benefits are maximized at intermediate nutrient levels". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284, n. 1860 (9 agosto 2017): 20170729. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0729.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Yield production in flowering crops depends on both nutrient availability and pollination, but their relative roles and potential interactions are poorly understood. We measured pollination benefits to yield in sunflower, combining a gradient in insect pollination (0, 25, 50, 100%) with a continuous gradient in nitrogen (N) fertilization (from 0 to 150 kg N ha −1 ) in an experiment under realistic soil field conditions. We found that pollination benefits to yield were maximized at intermediate levels of N availability, bolstering yield by approximately 25% compared with complete pollinator exclusion. Interestingly, we found little decrease in yield when insect visits were reduced by 50%, indicating that the incremental contribution of pollination by insects to yield is greater when the baseline pollination service provision is very low. Our findings provide strong evidence for interactive, nonlinear effects of pollination and resource availability on seed production. Our results support ecological intensification as a promising strategy for sustainable management of agroecosystems. In particular, we found optimal level of pollination to potentially compensate for lower N applications.
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Kevan, Peter G., E. Ann Clark e Vernon G. Thomas. "Insect pollinators and sustainable agriculture". American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 5, n. 1 (marzo 1990): 13–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0889189300003179.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
AbstractUnderestimation of the pivotal role played by managed and native insect pollinators is a key constraint to the sustainability of contemporary agricultural practices. The economic value of such insects to pollination, seed set, and fruit formation greatly outweighs that suggested by more conventional indices, such as the value of honey and wax produced by honeybees. Although the European honeybee has been widely regarded as the single most important pollinating species, the increasing spread of trachael and Varroa mites and Africanized bees threatens the distribution and magnitude of traditional honeybeekeeping enterprises in North America. A number of other bee and insect pollinators, such as orchard bees, bumblebees, and squash bees, which are not affected by either the mites or the Africanized bees, are considered as likely candidates for management and use in commercial agriculture. An additional role can be played by native or wild pollinators, provided that attention is given to curtailing of population losses caused by both inadvertent insecticide poisoning and habitat destruction. To ensure a reliable source of pollinators, both managed and native, a more comprehensive strategy for management of crop pollination is needed. Elements of this strategy include an increased understanding of the biology and ecology of pollinating insects, as well as providing appropriate nesting habitat, and ensuring the availability of alternative sources of “forage” to sustain populations when the target crops are not in bloom. Examples are discussed to illustrate how private initiatives and changes to public policy can enhance pollinator habitat, and ultimately, agricultural productivity.
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Santandreu, Marc, e Francisco Lloret. "Effect of flowering phenology and habitat on pollen limitation in Erica multiflora". Canadian Journal of Botany 77, n. 5 (16 ottobre 1999): 734–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b99-015.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Pollination can be a major factor influencing reproductive success in plants. Pollination may be influenced by variability in pollen production and vector activity associated with environmental heterogeneity in time and space. These factors were addressed experimentally using hand pollinations of Erica multiflora L., a shrub occurring in the western Mediterranean Basin that exhibits a long flowering period. Variation in pollen limitation was considered three times (early, peak, and late) over the flowering season and between two habitats (shrubland and pine forest). The breeding system and the pollination vectors were also studied by hand pollination and exclusion experiments. Xenogamy and natural pollination (control) treatments produced more seed and fruit set than geitonogamy and autogamy treatments. Insect visitors were less abundant at the end of the flowering period and in the pine forest habitat. Pollen limitation was not different between habitats, but it changed over the flowering period. Fruit set was pollen limited at the early flowering time, when less flowers were available. Both seed and fruit set were pollen limited at the late flowering time, when both flower density and insect visitors were lower. Seed and fruit set were not pollen limited at the peak of the flowering period, but their low values suggest resource limitation associated with a large number of developing fruits.Key words: breeding system, fruit set, hand pollination, insect pollinator, phenology, seed production.
26
Tarigan, Rasiska, Susilawati Barus, Rina C. Hutabarat, Perdinanta Sembiring, Dorkas Parhusip, Bagus Kukuh Udiarto e Dewi Sartika Aryani. "Keanekaragaman dan aktivitas serangga pengunjung pada bunga wortel". Jurnal Entomologi Indonesia 19, n. 3 (7 dicembre 2022): 214–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.5994/jei.19.3.214.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Pollinating insects act as agents for transferring pollen to the pistil that leads to the increase of quality seed production. Since carrot is propagation through seed, insect pollination are important in the reproduction of the crop. The purpose of this study was to observe the diversity and activity of pollinating insects on carrot flowers in the Experimental Garden of the Agricultural Technology Research and Assessment Installation (IP2TP) Berastagi. Scan sampling method was applied to record the pollinator diversity, while the foraging behaviour of the insects was observed using focal sampling. The number of insects were recorded, collected and preserved in ethanol 70%. Insect identification guideline book was used to identify the insects by comparing their morphology and physiology. The results showed that there were 8 insect species visiting the carrot flowers: Amegilla sp., Polyrachis sp., Coccinella sp., Rhagonycha sp., Muscidae sp., Chrysomya sp., Nephrotoma sp. and Tabanus sp. Amegilla sp. was found to have the highest intensity visiting the carrot flowers (21.6 ± 10.06)% while the lowest was demonstrated by Polyrachis sp. (12.6 ± 4.12)%. Also, Amegilla sp. was recorded to be the most active insect (11.84 ± 1.46 seconds/flower) with the number of flowers visited was 5,06 ± 1,46 flowers/minute. Polyrachis sp. has been revealed to have the longest stay on the flowers visited (49.24 ± 3.89 seconds/flower) with the number of flowers visited 1.21 ± 3.90 flowers/minute. The diversity of pollinating insect was found to be in intermediate level (H’ = 1.89).
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Mandal, Eeshita, Md Ruhul Amin, Habibur Rahman e Abdul Mannan Akanda. "Abundance and foraging behavior of native insect pollinators and their effect on mustard (Brassica juncea L.)". Bangladesh Journal of Zoology 46, n. 2 (1 dicembre 2018): 117–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v46i2.39045.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
A field experiment was carried out in Gazipur, Bangladesh to find out the abundance and behavior of native insect pollinators and their impact on the yield and seed quality of mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Total 8 species of insects under 8 different families in 3 orders were found as pollinator and their abundance ranged from 0.5 to 6.6/30 sweeps. The pollinator insects revealed statistically higher abundance compared to pest, predator and other category. The pollinators were most abundant at 11.0 hrs of the day and differed in their landing duration on flower. Ant and cabbage butterfly stayed statistically similar and longer time (24.1 and 23.5 sec., respectively). The highest yield (994.3 kg/ha) was obtained from insect managed pollination treatment followed by open (759.7 kg/ha) and enclosed condition (272.3 kg/ha). Insect pollination revealed higher percentage of germination, t100-seed weight, per cent oil and protein content but the results did not differ statistically.
Bangladesh J. Zool. 46(2): 117-123, 2018
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Goulnik, Jérémie, Sylvain Plantureux, Isabelle Dajoz e Alice Michelot-Antalik. "Using Matching Traits to Study the Impacts of Land-Use Intensification on Plant–Pollinator Interactions in European Grasslands: A Review". Insects 12, n. 8 (28 luglio 2021): 680. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12080680.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Permanent grasslands are suitable habitats for many plant and animal species, among which are pollinating insects that provide a wide range of ecosystem services. A global crisis in pollination ecosystem service has been highlighted in recent decades, partly the result of land-use intensification. At the grassland scale, however, the underlying mechanisms of land-use intensification that affect plant–pollinator interactions and pollination remain understudied. In this review, we first synthesise the literature to provide new insights into the relationships between land-use intensification and pollination by using matching community and interaction traits. We then identify knowledge gaps and summarise how land-use intensification of grassland influences floral traits that may in turn be associated with modifications to pollinator matching traits. Last, we summarise how these modifications may affect pollination function on permanent grasslands. Overall, land-use intensification may lead to a shift in flower colour, a decrease in mean nectar tube depth and a decrease in reward production and pollen quality at the community level. This, in turn, may generate a decrease in pollinator mouthparts length and body size, that may favour pollinators that require a low amount of floral reward. We found no study citing the effect of land-use intensification on volatile organic compounds emitted by flowers despite the importance of these molecules in pollinator community composition. Overall, our review highlighted major knowledge gaps about the effects of land-use intensification on plant–pollinator interactions, and suggests that land-use intensification could favour plants with generalised floral traits that adversely affect pollination.
29
Sharma, Manju V., e Kundaranahalli R. Shivanna. "Pollinators, pollination efficiency and fruiting success in a wild nutmeg, Myristica dactyloides". Journal of Tropical Ecology 27, n. 4 (31 maggio 2011): 405–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467411000174.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract:We investigated the pollinator assemblage in Myristica dactyloides, a dioecious tree species occupying the intermediate canopy stratum of the mid- and high-elevation wet evergreen forests and endemic to Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India. We surveyed two populations and, in one of them, marked four male and three female trees for observations on floral display and insect foraging, and two female trees for experimental pollination. Yellow sticky traps were used to sample insects in the canopy during the flowering season of December 2007 in addition to direct observations of insect activity in 2006. Myristicaceae members from other tropical areas have been reported to be specialized to beetle pollination, but our observations provide evidence of a generalist pollination system in M. dactyloides, composed of small, diverse insects: thysanopterans (thrips), coleopterans (beetles), halictid bees and dipterans (syrphid and phorid flies). Quantifying floral display, we found that female inflorescences were smaller, offered no reward and attracted significantly fewer pollinators in comparison to male inflorescences. Fruit set was low and could be attributed to a 29% flower abscission and abortion of young fruits, but a reasonably high natural pollination efficiency combined with pollination experiments established that there was no pollination limitation in the study population.
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Castro, Helena, Catarina Siopa, Vinícius Casais, Mariana Castro, João Loureiro, Hugo Gaspar, Maria Celeste Dias e Sílvia Castro. "Spatiotemporal Variation in Pollination Deficits in an Insect-Pollinated Dioecious Crop". Plants 10, n. 7 (22 giugno 2021): 1273. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10071273.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Inadequate quantity and quality of pollen reaching the stigmas decreases the sexual reproductive output of plants, compromising yield. Still, the current extent of pollen limitation affecting yield (i.e., pollination deficits) is poorly quantified. This study is aimed at quantifying pollination deficits in kiwifruit orchards, a dioecious plant with a fruit caliber and market value largely dependent on pollination services. For that, we set up a pollination experiment and quantified services and yield provided by current pollination vectors, and under optimal pollination, over two years in a total of twenty-three orchards covering the kiwifruit production range in Portugal. We characterized nine fruit traits and used: (1) fruit weight to calculate pollination deficits and relate them with pollinator diversity and abundance, and environmental variables; and (2) production values, fruit caliber, and market values to calculate economic impact of pollination deficits. Results showed that pollination deficits were variable in time and space and were significantly and negatively correlated with pollinator abundance, while the opposite pattern was obtained for production, supporting the notion that a higher pollinator’s abundance is related to lower pollination deficits and higher yields. Understanding the factors affecting pollination deficits is crucial to depict the need for nature-based solutions promoting pollinators and to resort to management practices assisting pollination.
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Rosa, Annelise de Souza, Betina Blochtein e Diego Kweco Lima. "Honey bee contribution to canola pollination in Southern Brazil". Scientia Agricola 68, n. 2 (aprile 2011): 255–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0103-90162011000200018.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Although canola, (Brassica napus L.), is considered a self-pollinating crop, researchers have indicated that crop productivity increases as a result of honey bee Apis mellifera L. pollination. Given this crop's growing importance in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, this work evaluated the increase in pod and seed productivity with respect to interactions with anthophilous insects and manual pollination tests. The visiting frequency of A. mellifera was correlated with the crop's blooming progression, and productivity comparisons were made between plants visited by insects, manually pollinated plants (geitonogamy and xenogamy) and plants without pollination induction. Pod set and seed production per plant were determined for each treatment. Among the 8,624 recorded flower-visiting insects, Hymenoptera representatives were the most prevalent (92.3%), among which 99.8% were A. mellifera. The correlation between these bees and blooming progression was positive (r = 0.87; p = 0.002). Pollination induction increased seed productivity from 28.4% (autogamy) to 50.4% with insect visitations, as well as to 48.7 (geitonogamy) and to 55.1% (xenogamy) through manual pollination.
32
Joshi, Udit, Kiran Kothiyal, Yogesh Kumar e Rajendra Bhatt. "Role of honeybees in horticultural crop productivity enhancement". INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES 17, AAEBSSD (15 luglio 2021): 348–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.15740/has/ijas/17-aaebssd/348-355.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Pollination is vital to conserve the planet’s vast wealth of biodiversity.The pollinator is a living organism transporting pollen grains from the male part to the flower’s fertilizing stigma.Fruit and seed set mainly in cross-pollinated crops dependon honeybees since their bodily parts have been engineered to capture the most pollen grains possible andhavea rapid reproductive rate. Insects are responsible for about 80% of all pollination activity, with bees accounting for over 80% of all insect pollination.Every day, a given bee colony may pollinate about 300 million flowers.Honey bees are considered the finest pollinators among all that contribute to pollination and generate honey and other hive products that add to farm income. The benefits of growing crops yield much more than the income generated by selling honey and other products.Many studies also demonstrate that pesticide application became a significant issue in most crops and antagonistically influence the honey bee population. Hence, great care must be taken to safeguard insect pollinators, particularly honey bees, against pesticide poisoning.The importance of pollinator species richness in their natural environment and function in crop improvement must be recognized. This review provides a broad overview of pollination difficulties that farmers face and an explanation of the importance of pollination in boosting food and nutritional security by improving the productivity of horticultural crops.
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Dorin, Alan, Tim Taylor e Adrian G. Dyer. "Goldilocks’ quarter-hectare urban farm: An agent-based model for improved pollination of community gardens and small-holder farms". PLOS Sustainability and Transformation 1, n. 7 (15 luglio 2022): e0000021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000021.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Industrial agriculture’s expansive monocultures contrast against community farms of diverse crops in small allotments constrained by urban regulations. These human-controlled differences in scale, arrangement and crop diversity, may differently impact insect foraging and pollination. The relationship between human management and insect pollination is under-explored, especially regarding the implications of insect flower constancy–the tendency of insects to favour visits to a single rewarding flower species during a foraging bout. Although high flower-constancy is associated with reliable pollen transport, its impact on pollination depends also on planting regimes, the vicinity of neighbouring crops, weeds and wildflowers. This study explores the potential pollination impacts of insect flower constancy, heterospecific pollen transfer, and human-dictated crop patch size, using an agent-based model of insect pollinators foraging from two flowering plant species. Highly constant pollinators were most effective in the smallest patches when heterospecific pollen transfer was an issue. As patch size increased, pollination rates improved overall, but less constant insects produced better pollination rates for intermediate sized areas because they rapidly switched preferences between flower species. As patch size increased further, the influence of flower constancy on pollination rates was reduced. Study results suggest that typical community farms containing small single-crop patches operated by independent growers within an allotment, may be better pollinated if operated collaboratively to increase single-crop patch size. Crop patches needn’t be large homogeneous agricultural monocultures, but neither should they be so small and heterogeneous as to inhibit pollination. We found a “Goldilocks zone” around 11m x 11m to be a good compromise for pollination, regardless of the level of flower constancy in local insects. As climate and human land use increasingly impact insect populations, the relationships between pollination systems, growers and policy makers must be continually examined to safeguard food supplies and native ecosystems.
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Martins Junior, Edivaldo Rodrigues, Ana Carolina Galindo da Costa, Paulo Milet-Pinheiro, Daniela Navarro, William Wayt Thomas, Ana Maria Giulietti e Isabel Cristina Machado. "Mixed pollination system and floral signals of Paepalanthus (Eriocaulaceae): insects and geitonogamy ensure high reproductive success". Annals of Botany 129, n. 4 (17 gennaio 2022): 473–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcac008.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract Background and Aims Eriocaulaceae exhibit a great variety of floral traits associated with insect (e.g. nectariferous structures) and wind pollination (unisexual flowers, exposed sexual organs and small pollen grains), as well as the ‘selfing syndrome’ (small flowers, short distance between stigma and anthers, and temporal overlap of male and female phases). Paepalanthus bifidus, P. subtilis and P. tortilis are related species that differ in form, size and colour of floral structures. We aimed to investigate the pollination and reproductive biology of these three species. Methods We analysed the floral biology, floral visitors, pollinator behaviour, and the contribution of insects, wind and spontaneous geitonogamy to fruit set. We also evaluated the floral colour and scent of the species. Colour reflectance of capitula of each species was measured and plotted in models of insect vision. Floral scent samples were extracted and the compounds were compared to vegetative scent samples. Key Results In all species, the staminate and pistillate flowers are arranged in alternating cycles with a temporal overlap between these phases. Ants were the most frequent floral visitors and were effective pollinators in P. bifidus and P. tortilis, while flies were occasional pollinators in P. tortilis. Floral visitors were not observed in P. subtilis. In all species, fruits were produced by spontaneous geitonogamy, with no evidence of wind pollination. According to the models of insect vision, the colours of the capitula of P. bifidus and P. subtilis are the most inconspicuous for ants and flies. We found no difference between the emission of volatiles of inflorescences and vegetative structures. Conclusions This study suggests that ant pollination might be more widespread in Eriocaulaceae than currently assumed. Furthermore, for small monocarpic plants, mixed mating strategies are most favourable, by ensuring reproduction either by outcrossing when pollinators are abundant or by spontaneous geitonogamy when pollinations are scarce/absent.
35
Thalwitzer, Liezl, Dave Kelly, Rob D. Smissen, Ruth Butler, David M. Suckling e Ashraf El-Sayed. "Species-specific male pollinators found for three native New Zealand greenhood orchids (Pterostylis spp.) suggest pollination by sexual deception". Australian Journal of Botany 66, n. 3 (2018): 243. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt17111.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Many orchids achieve pollination by deceptive means. Sexually deceptive orchids are pollinated by male insects, which are lured to flowers that mimic the sex pheromones and/or appearance of their female conspecifics. This specialised pollination strategy was recently confirmed for the first time in a Pterostylis species in Australia. We investigated whether this pollination strategy may also be operating in Pterostylis species in New Zealand where generalised plant–insect pollination strategies are most commonly documented. The breeding systems of Pterostylis oliveri Petrie and Pterostylis irsoniana Hatch were investigated in the field with pollination treatments. Sticky traps were set up over flowering P. oliveri, P. irsoniana and Pterostylis venosa Colenso to catch potential pollinators of the flowers. Insects caught carrying orchid pollinia were identified, and the pollinia were identified to plant species with nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (nrDNA ITS) sequences. Both P. oliveri and P. irsoniana were found to be self-compatible, but dependent on insects for pollination. Pollinia from each of the three Pterostylis spp. were found to be carried species-specifically by male fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae): only Mycetophila latifascia fungus gnats carried the pollinia of P. oliveri, Morganiella fusca gnats carried the pollinia of P. irsoniana, and Tetragoneura sp. carried the pollinia of P. venosa. The pollinator specificity indicates that each of the male fungus gnat species was attracted to the flowers of a specific Pterostylis orchid. This strongly suggests that each of the orchid species emit a specific floral volatile, most probably resembling the sex pheromones of the female conspecifics, to lure their male pollinators. These are the first documented cases of highly specialised sexually deceptive pollination in New Zealand orchids, which were thought to be predominantly self-pollinating.
36
Heard, TA, V. Vithanage e EK Chacko. "Pollination biology of cashew in the Northern Territory of Australia". Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 41, n. 6 (1990): 1101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ar9901101.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Aspects of the pollination biology of cashew Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae) were investigated at a site of potential commercial production. A mean of 442.9 flowers were produced per panicle of which 32.1 (7.3%) were hermaphrodite, the remainder being male. Mean initial fruit set was 5.0 per panicle, representing a percentage fruit set of 15.5%. The absence of either male or hermaphrodite flowers at any particular stage of flowering did not limit fruit set. Diversity of insect flower visitors, attracted by nectar rewards, was great, but only a few species were common. Three species of potentially efficient pollinators were tested for their pollinator efficiency which was found to be high for honey bees, Apis mellifera, and a native fly, Ligyra sp. Only 25% of flowers were pollinated in 1987, but this increased to 98% owing to a corresponding increase in the natural populations of insect visitors. Wind and night flying insects played no role in pollination. Although 98% of flowers were pollinated, initial fruit set averaged only 15.5%. This suggests that factors other than pollination limit fruit set. However, pollination is important and the insect pollinators will need protection from insecticide applications and destruction of breeding sites.
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Dingley, Angus, Sidra Anwar, Paul Kristiansen, Nigel W. M. Warwick, Chun-Hui Wang, Brian M. Sindel e Christopher I. Cazzonelli. "Precision Pollination Strategies for Advancing Horticultural Tomato Crop Production". Agronomy 12, n. 2 (18 febbraio 2022): 518. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020518.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Global climate change and anthropological activities have led to a decline in insect pollinators worldwide. Agricultural globalisation and intensification have also removed crops from their natural insect pollinators, and sparked research to identify alternate natural insect pollinators and artificial technologies. In certain countries such as Australia the importation of commercial insect pollinators is prohibited, necessitating manual labour to stimulate floral pollination. Artificial pollination technologies are now increasingly essential as the demand for food grown in protected facilities increases worldwide. For tomato fruits, precision pollination has the ability to vastly improve their seed set, size, yield, and quality under optimal environmental conditions and has become financially beneficial. Like many crops from the Solanaceae, tomatoes have a unique self-pollinating mechanism that requires stimulation of the floral organs to release pollen from the poricidal anthers. This review investigates various mechanisms employed to pollinate tomato flowers and discusses emerging precision pollination technologies. The advantages and disadvantages of various pollinating technologies currently available in the protected-cropping industry are described. We provide a buzz perspective on new promising pollination technologies involving robotic air and acoustic devices that are still in their nascency and could provide non-contact techniques to automate pollination for the tomato horticultural industry.
38
Luo, Shi-Xiao, Lian-Jie Zhang, Shuai Yuan, Zhong-Hui Ma, Dian-Xiang Zhang e Susanne S. Renner. "The largest early-diverging angiosperm family is mostly pollinated by ovipositing insects and so are most surviving lineages of early angiosperms". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285, n. 1870 (3 gennaio 2018): 20172365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2365.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Insect pollination in basal angiosperms is assumed to mostly involve ‘generalized' insects looking for food, but direct observations of ANITA grade (283 species) pollinators are sparse. We present new data for numerous Schisandraceae, the largest ANITA family, from fieldwork, nocturnal filming, electron microscopy, barcoding and molecular clocks to infer pollinator/plant interactions over multiple years at sites throughout China to test the extent of pollinator specificity. Schisandraceae are pollinated by nocturnal gall midges that lay eggs in the flowers and whose larvae then feed on floral exudates. At least three Schisandraceae have shifted to beetle pollination. Pollination by a single midge species predominates, but one species was pollinated by different species at three locations and one by two at the same location. Based on molecular clocks, gall midges and Schisandraceae may have interacted since at least the Early Miocene. Combining these findings with a review of all published ANITA pollination data shows that ovipositing flies are the most common pollinators of living representatives of the ANITA grade. Compared to food reward-based pollination, oviposition-based systems are less wasteful of plant gametes because (i) none are eaten and (ii) female insects with herbivorous larvae reliably visit conspecific flowers.
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Reilly, J. R., D. R. Artz, D. Biddinger, K. Bobiwash, N. K. Boyle, C. Brittain, J. Brokaw et al. "Crop production in the USA is frequently limited by a lack of pollinators". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287, n. 1931 (29 luglio 2020): 20200922. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0922.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Most of the world's crops depend on pollinators, so declines in both managed and wild bees raise concerns about food security. However, the degree to which insect pollination is actually limiting current crop production is poorly understood, as is the role of wild species (as opposed to managed honeybees) in pollinating crops, particularly in intensive production areas. We established a nationwide study to assess the extent of pollinator limitation in seven crops at 131 locations situated across major crop-producing areas of the USA. We found that five out of seven crops showed evidence of pollinator limitation. Wild bees and honeybees provided comparable amounts of pollination for most crops, even in agriculturally intensive regions. We estimated the nationwide annual production value of wild pollinators to the seven crops we studied at over $1.5 billion; the value of wild bee pollination of all pollinator-dependent crops would be much greater. Our findings show that pollinator declines could translate directly into decreased yields or production for most of the crops studied, and that wild species contribute substantially to pollination of most study crops in major crop-producing regions.
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Thapa, RB. "Honeybees and other Insect Pollinators of Cultivated Plants: A Review". Journal of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science 27 (1 maggio 2006): 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jiaas.v27i0.691.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Insects are viewed from the harmful perspectives and aimed at killing them through several means including indiscriminate use of deadly chemicals. If good judgment made keeping views on sustainable crop production, natural balance and pollution free environment, they are important component of the ecosystem and their beneficial aspects are immense. One of them is that insects provide pollination service to plants. The study showed that over 50 species of insects visited flowers of 17 different species of selected crops during flowering periods. The visiting preferences of insects to flowers of different crops differed among the crop species and insect species as well. In fact, of the total pollination activities, over 80% is performed by insects and bees contribute nearly 80% of the total insect pollination, and therefore, they are considered the best pollinators. The manmade agro-ecosystem exerted pressure and forced to decline pollinators and their diversity, which resulted in reduced agricultural productivity again threatening biodiversity. Management of wide diversities of honeybees and other beneficial insects and flowering plant species occurring in Nepal help to maintain diversity of flora and bee fauna, pollination and reward hive products in the service of mankind. This paper covers honeybees and other insect species visiting various crop flowers.
Key words : Pollination, honeybees, insect, flower visitors
J. Inst. Agric. Anim. Sci. 27:1-23 (2006)
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Bao, Tong, Bo Wang, Jianguo Li e David Dilcher. "Pollination of Cretaceous flowers". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, n. 49 (11 novembre 2019): 24707–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916186116.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Insect pollination of flowering plants (angiosperms) is responsible for the majority of the world’s flowering plant diversity and is key to the Cretaceous radiation of angiosperms. Although both insects and angiosperms were common by the mid-Cretaceous, direct fossil evidence of insect pollination is lacking. Direct evidence of Cretaceous insect pollination is associated with insect-gymnosperm pollination. Here, we report a specialized beetle-angiosperm pollination mode from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (99 mega-annum [Ma]) in which a tumbling flower beetle (Mordellidae), Angimordella burmitina gen. et sp. nov., has many tricolpate pollen grains attached. A. burmitina exhibits several specialized body structures for flower-visiting behavior including its body shape and pollen-feeding mouthparts revealed by X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). The tricolpate pollen in the amber belongs to the eudicots that comprise the majority of extant angiosperm species. These pollen grains exhibit zoophilous pollination attributes including their ornamentation, size, and clumping characteristics. Tricolpate pollen grains attached to the beetle’s hairs are revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy, which is a powerful tool for investigating pollen in amber. Our findings provide direct evidence of insect pollination of Cretaceous angiosperms, extending the range insect-angiosperm pollination association by at least 50 million years. Our results support the hypothesis that specialized insect pollination modes were present in eudicots 99 million years ago.
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Belien, Tim, Stijn Raymaekers, Maxime Eeraerts, Veerle Mommaerts, Gregor Claus, Christian Bogen, Niels Piot, Guy Smagghe, Pieter Spanoghe e Dany Bylemans. "Towards Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management in Intensive Pear Cultivation: A Case Study from Belgium". Insects 12, n. 10 (2 ottobre 2021): 901. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12100901.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Recently, the concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was further extended into Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM). Implementation of IPPM strategies entails the combination of actions for pest and pollinator management providing complementary or synergistic benefits for yield and/or quality of the harvest. The aim of this study was to examine IPPM elements (i.e., mixed hedgerow, nesting boxes for mason bees, Osmia spp.) and demonstrate their impact in the practical context of modern commercial fruit cultivation in a 4-year case study in an intensive ‘Conference’ pear orchard. The outcomes of visual observations during transect walks and molecular analysis of pollen collected by mason bees, showed the importance of additional floral resources for the presence of mason bees and other pollinating insects in the orchard environment. Pear quality assessments indicated that insect-mediated pollination had a significant positive impact, with a tendency for higher quality pears in the close vicinity of Osmia nesting boxes. However, despite the fact that pear pollen was also detected in Osmia spp. nest cells, the amount and frequency of pear pollen collection for their nest built-up turned out to be rather low. In the same intensive pear orchard studied for pollination effects, we simultaneously demonstrate the impact of a mixed hedgerow to enhance integrated pest control.
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Cooley, Hazel, e Mario Vallejo-Marín. "Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato". Journal of Economic Entomology 114, n. 2 (22 febbraio 2021): 505–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab009.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract Buzz-pollinated plants require visitation from vibration producing bee species to elicit full pollen release. Several important food crops are buzz-pollinated including tomato, eggplant, kiwi, and blueberry. Although more than half of all bee species can buzz pollinate, the most commonly deployed supplemental pollinator, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae; honey bees), cannot produce vibrations to remove pollen. Here, we provide a list of buzz-pollinated food crops and discuss the extent to which they rely on pollination by vibration-producing bees. We then use the most commonly cultivated of these crops, the tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae), as a case study to investigate the effect of different pollination treatments on aspects of fruit quality. Following a systematic review of the literature, we statistically analyzed 71 experiments from 24 studies across different geopolitical regions and conducted a meta-analysis on a subset of 21 of these experiments. Our results show that both supplemental pollination by buzz-pollinating bees and open pollination by assemblages of bees, which include buzz pollinators, significantly increase tomato fruit weight compared to a no-pollination control. In contrast, auxin treatment, artificial mechanical vibrations, or supplemental pollination by non-buzz-pollinating bees (including Apis spp.), do not significantly increase fruit weight. Finally, we compare strategies for providing bee pollination in tomato cultivation around the globe and highlight how using buzz-pollinating bees might improve tomato yield, particularly in some geographic regions. We conclude that employing native, wild buzz pollinators can deliver important economic benefits with reduced environmental risks and increased advantages for both developed and emerging economies.
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Meléndez, María Raquel, e William Patricio Ponce. "Pollination in the oil palms Elaeis guineensis, E. oleifera and their hybrids (OxG), in tropical America". Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical 46, n. 1 (marzo 2016): 102–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1983-40632016v4638196.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
ABSTRACT Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is very important in the Central and South American economies. Plants suffer from a devastating fungal disease known as "lethal decay" or "pudrición del cogollo", in Spanish. Producer countries in Africa, Asia and tropical America have developed breeding programs that seek the tolerance of this disease by plants. The hybrids Elaeis guineensis x Elaeis oleifera (OxG) are resistant, but show physiological problems that affect commercial productivity. Natural pollination in these hybrids is low and manual pollination has high labor costs. The Coleoptera order is the most numerous and diverse natural pollinator, and the Elaeidobius genus has high efficiency and specificity to oil palm species. Elaeidobius kameronicus, Elaeidobius subvittatus and Mystrops costaricensis are the insects most commonly associated with oil palm inflorescences. Dynamics in insect populations change according to palm species and weather conditions. It is necessary to understand the insect behavior and population dynamics in OxG hybrids. Thus, recent studies on oil palm pollination, insect diversity and distribution in Latin America are discussed in this study.
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Aripin, Ipin, Topik Hidayat, Nuryani Y. Rustaman e Riandi Riandi. "Monitoring of insect pollinators of mango (Mangifera indica L.) inflorescence based on citizen science". Biogenesis: Jurnal Ilmiah Biologi 9, n. 2 (30 dicembre 2021): 156. http://dx.doi.org/10.24252/bio.v9i2.23509.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Mango cross-pollination can be encouraged through the presence of pollinating insects, which can be investigated and observed through citizen science activities. This study aims to monitor the presence of insect pollinators of mango (Mangifera indica L.) inflorescence through citizen science activities. The data generated in the study can be used as a reference to determine population trends and the biodiversity of mango insect pollinators. A citizen science approach in participatory research was used to collect and identify the data. A total of 68 volunteer participants from two universities in west Java were involved in this study. The participants had to meet the requirements to have contracted ecology courses. Smartphones and insect identification guidelines and databases at https://www.discoverlife.org/ and https://www.inaturalist.org/ were used as a tool in this research. The identified data were submitted via google form (www.bit.ly/csmangga) and the Inaturalist application for publication. It was discovered that mango inflorescence insect pollinators comprised five orders, 26 families, and 39 species. Diptera and Hymenoptera orders are insects that have the biggest role in mango pollination, and Chrysomya sp. is an insect species found in almost all mango cultivars.
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Abbate, Anthony P., Joshua W. Campbell, Edgar L. Vinson e Geoffrey R. Williams. "The Pollination and Fruit Quality of Two Kiwifruit Cultivars (Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ and ‘AU Gulf Coast Gold’) (Ericales: Actinidiaceae) Grown in the Southeastern United States". Journal of Economic Entomology 114, n. 3 (22 aprile 2021): 1234–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab075.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Abstract Kiwifruit is a new emerging crop for the southeastern United States that requires cross-pollination to set fruit. However, the pollination requirements for varieties grown in the southeastern United States are unknown. Through insect surveys and a bagging experiment, we assessed the pollination requirements of two female kiwifruit cultivars (Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ and A. chinensis var. chinensis ‘AU Gulf Coast Gold’). For each, fruit quantity (fruit set) and fruit quality (weight, size, seed count, firmness, soluble solid content, and dry matter) were compared among three pollination treatments (wind, insect, and artificial pollination). Low abundances of insects were observed visiting female flowers of both kiwifruit cultivars, and therefore likely minimally influenced kiwifruit pollination. Artificial pollination resulted in the greatest percentages of fruit set and marketable fruits, followed by insect and wind pollination. Artificial pollination resulted in fruits that were greater in weight, size, and contained more seeds, than insect- and wind-pollinated fruits. Firmness and soluble solid content did not vary greatly between pollination treatments, yet were greater in ‘AU Golden Sunshine’. Dry matter content did not vary greatly between pollination treatments or between each cultivar. To maximize yields and optimize fruit quality, these results suggest that kiwifruit producers should place more effort into artificial pollination compared to wind and insect pollination. Future research should explore the use of managed bees (e.g., honey bees and bumble bees) within kiwifruit orchards to determine ways to utilize them as a secondary source for pollination needs.
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Chiasson, H., D. de Oliveira e C. Vincent. "Effects of an insect vacuum device on strawberry pollination". Canadian Journal of Plant Science 75, n. 4 (1 ottobre 1995): 917–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjps95-154.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
The Biovac®, a tractor-propelled insect vacuum device, was evaluated for its effect on strawberry pollination. The device had little effect on the dispersal pattern of pollen ejected by its exhaust pipe. However, viability of ejected pollen was half that of pollen collected directly from flowers. Fruit weight and degree of pollination of fruit from flowers pollinated only by pollen dispersed by the Biovac were inferior (significantly 12 times out of 16) to those of flowers exposed to all pollinating agents. Key words: Biovac®, insect vacuum device, strawberry, pollination, Fragaria × ananassa
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Theodorou, Panagiotis, Rita Radzevičiūtė, Josef Settele, Oliver Schweiger, Tomás E. Murray e Robert J. Paxton. "Pollination services enhanced with urbanization despite increasing pollinator parasitism". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283, n. 1833 (29 giugno 2016): 20160561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0561.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Animal-mediated pollination is required for the reproduction of the majority of angiosperms, and pollinators are therefore essential for ecosystem functioning and the economy. Two major threats to insect pollinators are anthropogenic land-use change and the spread of pathogens, whose effects may interact to impact pollination. Here, we investigated the relative effects on the ecosystem service of pollination of (i) land-use change brought on by agriculture and urbanization as well as (ii) the prevalence of pollinator parasites, using experimental insect pollinator-dependent plant species in natural pollinator communities. We found that pollinator habitat (i.e. availability of nesting resources for ground-nesting bees and local flower richness) was strongly related to flower visitation rates at the local scale and indirectly influenced plant pollination success. At the landscape scale, pollination was positively related to urbanization, both directly and indirectly via elevated visitation rates. Bumblebees were the most abundant pollinator group visiting experimental flowers. Prevalence of trypanosomatids, such as the common bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi, was higher in urban compared with agricultural areas, a relationship which was mediated through higher Bombus abundance. Yet, we did not find any top-down, negative effects of bumblebee parasitism on pollination. We conclude that urban areas can be places of high transmission of both pollen and pathogens.
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Nuortila, Carolin, Juha Tuomi e Kari Laine. "Inter-parent distance affects reproductive success in two clonal dwarf shrubs, Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Ericaceae)". Canadian Journal of Botany 80, n. 8 (1 agosto 2002): 875–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b02-079.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Clonal propagation and limited dispersal of seeds lead to genetic population structures in which most potential mates are relatives. If the species suffers from inbreeding depression or is self-incompatible, the number of seeds matured per fruit may be limited by the lack of outcrossing by unrelated pollen. We tested for distance-related genetic structure by hand-pollinating plants at increasing distances and measuring fruit set (berries/pollinated flowers) and seed number per fruit in natural populations of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). Bagging of the flower buds without natural (pollination by insects) or hand-pollination yielded almost no fruit or seed, suggesting that the species are obligately insect pollinated. Self-pollination led to a significant reduction in seed number per fruit and increased seed abortion compared with cross-pollination. Moreover, seed number increased with increasing distance between the pollen donor and pollen recipient. Flight distances of bumblebees were estimated for bilberry by monitoring between-flower and, for lingonberry, between-inflorescence flight distances. About 90% of all flights were at distances of less than 1 m. At this distance, we observed less than the maximum seed number per fruit in hand-pollinations in both study species. Consequently, clonal growth is likely to be an important factor that constrains fruit and seed number in these species.Key words: bumblebee forage distance, clonal, hand-pollination, inter-parent distance, reproductive success, Vaccinium.
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Rydin, Catarina, e Kristina Bolinder. "Moonlight pollination in the gymnosperm Ephedra (Gnetales)". Biology Letters 11, n. 4 (aprile 2015): 20140993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0993.
Testo completoAbstract (sommario):
Most gymnosperms are wind-pollinated, but some are insect-pollinated, and in Ephedra (Gnetales), both wind pollination and insect pollination occur. Little is, however, known about mechanisms and evolution of pollination syndromes in gymnosperms. Based on four seasons of field studies, we show an unexpected correlation between pollination and the phases of the moon in one of our studied species, Ephedra foeminea . It is pollinated by dipterans and lepidopterans, most of them nocturnal, and its pollination coincides with the full moon of July. This may be adaptive in two ways. Many nocturnal insects navigate using the moon. Further, the spectacular reflection of the full-moonlight in the pollination drops is the only apparent means of nocturnal attraction of insects in these plants. In the sympatric but wind-pollinated Ephedra distachya , pollination is not correlated to the full moon but occurs at approximately the same dates every year. The lunar correlation has probably been lost in most species of Ephedra subsequent an evolutionary shift to wind pollination in the clade. When the services of insects are no longer needed for successful pollination, the adaptive value of correlating pollination with the full moon is lost, and conceivably also the trait.