More than colour attraction: behavioural functions of flower patterns

Ibarra, Natalie Hempel de; Langridge, Keri V.; Vorobyev, Misha

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2015.09.005

Cited by 73 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Especially floral volatiles seem to undergo profound changes in response to herbivory (Cozzolino et al, ; Kessler & Halitschke, ; Lucas‐Barbosa et al, ; Pareja et al, ; Schiestl et al, ) and may explain changes in pollinator behaviour well (Kessler & Halitschke, ; Schiestl et al, ), although it is often unclear which individual compounds are used by pollinators (but see Knauer & Schiestl, ). Other flower traits like colour and morphology also change in response to herbivory and are important for pollinator attraction (Campbell, Bischoff, Lord, & Robertson, ; Hempel de Ibarra, Langridge, & Vorobyev, ; Strauss, Conner, & Rush, ). Flower volatiles, colour, and morphology can provide information on floral rewards for naïve pollinators (Gómez et al, ; Haverkamp, Bing, Badeke, Hansson, & Knaden, ; Raine & Chittka, ), conferring so‐called honest signals, which would predict adaptive responses of naïve pollinators to herbivore‐induced changes in flower volatiles, colour, or morphology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral plasticity: Herbivore‐species‐specific‐induced changes in flower traits with contrasting effects on pollinator visitation

Rusman

Poelman

Nowrin

et al. 2019

Plant Cell & Environment

112

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Plant phenotypic plasticity in response to antagonists can affect other community members such as mutualists, conferring potential ecological costs associated with inducible plant defence. For flowering plants, induction of defences to deal with herbivores can lead to disruption of plant–pollinator interactions. Current knowledge on the full extent of herbivore‐induced changes in flower traits is limited, and we know little about specificity of induction of flower traits and specificity of effect on flower visitors. We exposed flowering Brassica nigra plants to six insect herbivore species and recorded changes in flower traits (flower abundance, morphology, colour, volatile emission, nectar quantity, and pollen quantity and size) and the behaviour of two pollinating insects. Our results show that herbivory can affect multiple flower traits and pollinator behaviour. Most plastic floral traits were flower morphology, colour, the composition of the volatile blend, and nectar production. Herbivore‐induced changes in flower traits resulted in positive, negative, or neutral effects on pollinator behaviour. Effects on flower traits and pollinator behaviour were herbivore species‐specific. Flowers show extensive plasticity in response to antagonist herbivores, with contrasting effects on mutualist pollinators. Antagonists can potentially act as agents of selection on flower traits and plant reproduction via plant‐mediated interactions with mutualists.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral plasticity: Herbivore‐species‐specific‐induced changes in flower traits with contrasting effects on pollinator visitation

Rusman

Poelman

Nowrin

et al. 2019

Plant Cell & Environment

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, in the current study, petal spot size did not have a significant effect on pollen receipt in C. unguiculata, so it was removed from the final model. It is often assumed that floral patterns help pollinators to discriminate among flowers and to identify the most rewarding ones (Hempel de Ibarra, Langridge, & Vorobyev, ). We do not know, however, whether petal spot size is correlated with nectar quantity or quality in this species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐specific floral attraction traits in a sequentially hermaphroditic species

Peach

Liu

Klitgaard

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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●Many angiosperms are hermaphroditic and produce bisexual flowers in which male (pollen export) and female (stigma receptivity) functions are separated temporally. This sequential hermaphroditism may be associated with variation in flower size, color, or pattern, all of which may influence pollinator attraction. In this study, we describe variation in these traits across discrete functional sex stages within and between 225 greenhouse‐grown individuals of Clarkia unguiculata (Onagraceae). In addition, to identify the effects of floral phenotype on pollinator attraction in this species, we examine the effects of these floral traits on pollen receipt in ~180 individuals in an experimental field array. ●Petal area, ultraviolet (UV)‐absorbing nectar guide area, and blue and green mean petal reflectance differ significantly across the functional sex stages of C. unguiculata. Male‐ and female‐phase flowers display significantly different pollinator attraction traits. Petal and UV nectar guide area increase as flowers progress from male phase to female phase, while blue reflectance and green reflectance peak during anther maturation. ●In field arrays of C. unguiculata, female‐phase flowers with large UV nectar guides receive more pollen than those with small nectar guides, and female‐phase flowers with high mean blue reflectance values are more likely to receive pollen than those with low blue reflectance. Female‐phase flowers with green mean reflectance values that differ most from background foliage also receive more pollen than those that are more similar to foliage. These findings indicate that components of flower color and pattern influence pollen receipt, independent of other plant attributes that may covary with floral traits. We discuss these results in the context of hypotheses that have been proposed to explain sex‐specific floral attraction traits, and we suggest future research that could improve our understanding of sexual dimorphism in sequentially hermaphroditic species and the evolution of features that promote outcrossing.

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“…Spatial differences in pigmentation (e.g. [6,43]) can be due to differences in expression of the pigments' biosynthetic pathway, which likely is phylogenetically constrained, but may also be due to a different interior inhomogeneity in the tubes, lobes, and veins of flowers [14,44]. The complex interplay between the visual ecology of pollinators and the physiological constraints of flowers provides an intriguing avenue for further research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to colour a flower: on the optical principles of flower coloration

et al. 2016

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The coloration of flowers is due to the wavelength-selective absorption by pigments of light backscattered by structures inside the petals. We investigated the optical properties of flowers using (micro)spectrophotometry and anatomical methods. To assess the contribution of different structures to the overall visual signal of flowers, we used an optical model, where a petal is considered as a stack of differently pigmented and structured layers and we interpreted the visual signals of the model petals with insect vision models. We show that the reflectance depends, in addition to the pigmentation, on the petal's thickness and the inhomogeneity of its interior. We find large between-species differences in floral pigments, pigment concentration and localization, as well as floral interior structure. The fractions of reflected and transmitted light are remarkably similar between the studied species, suggesting common selective pressures of pollinator visual systems. Our optical model highlights that pigment localization crucially determines the efficiency of pigmentary filtering and thereby the chromatic contrast and saturation of the visual signal. The strongest visual signal occurs with deposition of pigments only on the side of viewing. Our systematic approach and optical modelling open new perspectives on the virtues of flower colour.

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More than colour attraction: behavioural functions of flower patterns

Cited by 73 publications

References 71 publications

Floral plasticity: Herbivore‐species‐specific‐induced changes in flower traits with contrasting effects on pollinator visitation

Floral plasticity: Herbivore‐species‐specific‐induced changes in flower traits with contrasting effects on pollinator visitation

Sex‐specific floral attraction traits in a sequentially hermaphroditic species

How to colour a flower: on the optical principles of flower coloration

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