Acoustic communication in plant–animal interactions

Schöner, Michael G.; Simon, Ralph; Schöner, Caroline R.

doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2016.06.011

Cited by 48 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Among centropogonids, this is accomplished, at least in part, via peduncle length: long peduncles allow flowers to be held away from the body of the plant, greatly reducing background "clutter echoes" that reduce flower detectability (Muchhala and Serrano ; Schoner et al. ). Peduncle length was found to be best fit by an OU3 model, with bat flowers having much longer peduncles than either class of hummingbird flower (Tables and S4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although color signals are important to attract visually oriented hummingbirds, morphology that facilitates effective sound reflectance is critical to echolocating bats (Helversen and Helversen 1999;Simon et al 2011). Among centropogonids, this is accomplished, at least in part, via peduncle length: long peduncles allow flowers to be held away from the body of the plant, greatly reducing background "clutter echoes" that reduce flower detectability (Muchhala and Serrano 2015;Schoner et al 2016). Peduncle length was found to be best fit by an OU3 model, with bat flowers having much longer peduncles than either class of hummingbird flower (Tables 2 and S4).…”

Section: Syndromesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Repeated evolution of vertebrate pollination syndromes in a recently diverged Andean plant clade

et al. 2017

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Although specialized interactions, including those involving plants and their pollinators, are often invoked to explain high species diversity, they are rarely explored at macroevolutionary scales. We investigate the dynamic evolution of hummingbird and bat pollination syndromes in the centropogonid clade (Lobelioideae: Campanulaceae), an Andean-centered group of ∼550 angiosperm species. We demonstrate that flowers hypothesized to be adapted to different pollinators based on flower color fall into distinct regions of morphospace, and this is validated by morphology of species with known pollinators. This supports the existence of pollination syndromes in the centropogonids, an idea corroborated by ecological studies. We further demonstrate that hummingbird pollination is ancestral, and that bat pollination has evolved ∼13 times independently, with ∼11 reversals. This convergence is associated with correlated evolution of floral traits within selective regimes corresponding to pollination syndrome. Collectively, our results suggest that floral morphological diversity is extremely labile, likely resulting from selection imposed by pollinators. Finally, even though this clade's rapid diversification is partially attributed to their association with vertebrate pollinators, we detect no difference in diversification rates between hummingbird- and bat-pollinated lineages. Our study demonstrates the utility of pollination syndromes as a proxy for ecological relationships in macroevolutionary studies of certain species-rich clades.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Syndromesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated evolution of vertebrate pollination syndromes in a recently diverged Andean plant clade

et al. 2017

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“…; Schöner et al . ; Schöner, Simon & Schöner ). In exchange, these pitcher plants receive multiple benefits: all associated mammals have foraging areas that most likely exceed the catchment area of the plants’ arthropod attractants by far.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and an echo reflector that facilitates pitcher detection and identification by the bats (Schöner et al . ; Schöner, Simon & Schöner ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological outsourcing: a pitcher plant benefits from transferring pre‐digestion of prey to a bat mutualist

Schöner

Grafe

et al. 2016

Journal of Ecology

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Summary Mutualisms are interspecific interactions where each of the species involved gains net benefits from the other(s). The exchange of resources and/or services between mutualistic partners often involves tasks that species originally accomplished themselves but which have been taken over by or transferred to the more efficient partner during the evolution of the mutualism. Such ‘ecological outsourcing’ can be seen, for example, in several carnivorous plants that have transferred prey capture and digestion to animal partners. However, the outcome of this transfer and its fitness relevance has rarely been quantified. Using a digestive mutualism between a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes hemsleyana) and a bat (Kerivoula hardwickii) as a model, we tested the hypothesis that ecological outsourcing is a profitable strategy for the outsourcing partner. To evaluate the value of this mutualism, we conducted a series of field and glasshouse experiments. We measured the benefits of ecological outsourcing by comparing survival, growth, photosynthesis and nutrient content of N. hemsleyana plants fed with bat faeces to those fed with arthropods. To investigate the costs of such outsourcing processes, we repeated the experiment with the closest relative (Nepenthes rafflesiana) that is not adapted to digest bat faeces. We found that N. hemsleyana plants fed with faeces had increased survival, growth and photosynthesis compared to plants fed with arthropods only. On average, plants covered 95% of their nitrogen demand from faeces under strong nutrient deprivation. Despite N. rafflesiana's higher arthropod capture rate, faeces covered a large part of this species’ nutrient demand as well, suggesting low costs for outsourcing. Synthesis. Outsourcing prey capture and digestion to the mutualism partner seems to be a beneficial strategy for N. hemsleyana. It may explain the evolutionary trend of several carnivorous plants to lose their carnivorous traits while increasing their attractiveness to mutualistic partners. On a much broader scale, we propose that ecological outsourcing could be one of the major drivers for the evolution and maintenance of mutualisms.

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“…Animals employ sound to attract mates, to sense their environment, to send messages, to convey danger or just to entertain, while insects like ants and crickets also use sound for communication. There is even evidence that some plants use ‘acoustic reflectors’ to attract bats to pollinate, fertilize and distribute seeds (Schoner et al, 2016). …”

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confidence: 99%