Bird pollination

Johnson, Steven D.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.081

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Therefore, some flower traits adapting to other pollinators may be maintained in bird flowers and affect subsequent evolution (Thomson & Wilson, 2008; van der Niet & Johnson, 2012). Avian flowers usually evolve from bee flowers various in colours, such as blue and purple, but rarely red (Cronk & Ojeda, 2008; Johnson, 2022). The limited red flowers pollinated by bees tend to have SPs, which increases flower conspicuousness to bees (Chen, Liu, et al, 2020; Lunau et al, 2011; Mori et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The underlying logic is that bird pollination appears late in the evolution of pollination systems, possibly in the Cenozoic (the last 66 million years; Kay & Grossenbacher, 2022; Rose & Sytsma, 2021; Serrano‐Serrano et al, 2017) after the origin and diversification of the main avian nectivores, such as hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeyeaters (Boles, 2005; Jetz et al, 2012; Mayr & Wilde, 2014). In many plant taxa, bird flowers often evolve from preexisting pollination systems that are more common, such as those pollinated by bees (Cronk & Ojeda, 2008; Johnson, 2022). As different pollinators differ greatly in their colour vision, flower colour is expected to be under selection, often shifting from nonred to red colour (Cronk & Ojeda, 2008; Kay & Grossenbacher, 2022; Thomson & Wilson, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds

Chen,

Nevo,

Valenta

et al. 2023

Functional Ecology

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Pollination and seed dispersal are crucial processes for plant reproduction, sharing ecological relevance and similarities, yet they have rarely been considered together. Flowers appear to express greater phenotypic diversity than fruits due to multiple confounding factors, which pose challenges for comparative analyses. The colours of flowers and fruits are important visual signal traits in pollination and seed dispersal, evolving under different selective pressures from their respective pollinators and seed dispersers. Birds constitute a unique plant‐interacting group that participates in both pollination and seed dispersal events. In this study, we focus on red flowers and red fruits associated with avian mutualists to gain insight into the intrinsic differences between flowers/pollination and fruits/seed dispersal. We conducted comparisons of colouration between 94 red flowers pollinated by birds and 99 red fruits dispersed by birds. The colour diversity was compared in both the spectral space and the avian colour vision spaces. Colour conspicuousness was analysed using avian colour vision models, as well as bee models. Pigeon colour preference was tested by controlled experiments utilizing red stimuli with and without secondary peaks at short wavelengths. Red fruits had lower colour diversity than red flowers, with redder hues and fewer secondary reflectance peaks. Avian colour vision models illustrated that fruits were more conspicuous than flowers achromatically, but not chromatically. Pigeons did not show preference for red with or without a secondary peak. Although both are red, there are significant differences between flowers and fruits in terms of colour diversity, spectral properties and colour perceptions. As we exclusively considered avian mutualists, these differences cannot be attributed to the differences in interacting animal groups or to their colour vision properties. This implies that the differences in evolutionary history between flowers and fruits may deserve further attention to understand the colour evolution. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds

Chen,

Nevo,

Valenta

et al. 2023

Functional Ecology

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“…Bird pollination occurs in at least 10,000 plant species, and more than 900 bird species are involved (Anderson et al., 2016; Cronk & Ojeda, 2008; Johnson, 2022). The foraging behaviour of bird pollinators tends to promote pollen dispersal through a combination of high mobility, limited grooming and intra‐ and inter‐species aggression.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equivalent mating system parameters in post‐mining and undisturbed native plant populations confirms restitution of bird‐pollinator function

Krauss,

Anthony,

Lapenzee

et al. 2024

Journal of Applied Ecology

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The restoration of diverse self‐sustaining ecosystems requires re‐establishment of functional interactions among species. For plant communities, pollinators are usually essential for pollination, seed set and seed quality. A common assumption in ecological restoration for plants pollinated by animals is one of ‘build it and they will come’, which is rarely tested. Beyond seed set, there may be negative genetic consequences for seed quality if pollinators and their behaviour do not reflect those in reference populations. Here, we conduct an ecological genetic assessment of seed quality via mating system parameters in Lambertia multiflora (Proteaceae), a species dependent on nectar‐feeding birds for pollination. Four populations of L. multiflora in disturbed sites that were rehabilitated following mineral sands mining were compared with four native reference populations, near Eneabba, Western Australia. In each population, approximately 10 offspring from each of 10 maternal plants were genotyped with 11 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. From these data, genetic diversity and mating system parameters were assessed, and found to be equivalent across all populations. Mean allelic diversity and heterozygosity across loci were very high. All populations were completely outcrossing with no bi‐parental inbreeding. Mean correlated paternity, sibship and effective population size estimates for restored and natural populations were not significantly different and reflected uniformly high paternal diversity and wide outcrossing. Equivalent genetic results for restored and natural reference populations indicate successful restitution of bird‐pollinator services for L. multiflora in these post‐mining rehabilitation sites. Synthesis and applications. Reviewing our results with other published studies to date suggests a resilience of bird‐pollinator services in restored plant communities. These findings provide some reassurance to restoration practitioners working in these global south systems where bird pollination is a feature, at least for similar landscape scenarios. Our study also highlights the global contribution of ecological genetics to the objective assessment of functional species interactions in ecological restoration, an increasingly important goal of land managers and regulators seeking to improve restoration standards.

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Conspicuous, green flowers are an honest signal of nectar rewards in a bird-pollinated tree (Fuchsia excorticata, Onagraceae)

Lim,

Burns

2024

Plant Ecol

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Bird-pollinated flowers typically appear ‘red’. Fuchsia excorticata (Onagraceae), a gynodioecious tree species endemic to New Zealand, is a notable exception. It produces ‘green’, cauliflorous flowers at early stages in flower ontogeny, when pistils are receptive. Flowers later turn ‘red’ as they lose their receptivity. We conducted field observations and spectrographic analyses to test whether: (1) receptive, green-phase flowers are actually more conspicuous to avian pollinators against their natural backgrounds than unreceptive, red-phase flowers, (2) green-phase flowers produce more nectar, and (3) relationships between flower conspicuousness and nectar production are similar in females and hermaphrodites. Results showed that the reflectance properties of green-phase flowers sharply contrast ‘orange’ tree bark, their natural visual background, rendering them more conspicuous to the avian eye than red-phase flowers. Green-phase flowers also produced more nectar than red-phase flowers as an honest signal of rewards. Similar results were observed in both female and hermaphrodite plants. Overall results provide an unusual example of reversed flower-background colour contrasts, with ‘reddish’ hues being incorporated into the visual backgrounds of floral displays rather than being associated with the flowers themselves. They also illustrate that flower conspicuousness can serve as an honest signal of nectar rewards to pollinators.

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Bird pollination

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds

Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds

Equivalent mating system parameters in post‐mining and undisturbed native plant populations confirms restitution of bird‐pollinator function

Conspicuous, green flowers are an honest signal of nectar rewards in a bird-pollinated tree (Fuchsia excorticata, Onagraceae)

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