Quantifying pollen deposition with macro photography and 'stigmagraphs'

MacInnis, Gail; Forrest, Jessica R. K.

doi:10.26786/1920-7603(2017)six

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…We used stigmagraphs (MacInnis & Forrest, ) to determine each bee's contribution to the total pollen load on the sampled flowers. Specifically, after each bee visit, a high‐resolution photograph of the flower's stigmas (stigmagraph) was taken and the amount of pollen on the stigmas was determined by differentiating the colour of the pollen from that of the stigmatic surface using the image‐analysis software ImageJ‐Fiji (Schindelin et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we measure floral pollen loads in strawberry through stigmagraphs, a new pollen deposition measurement technique (MacInnis & Forrest, ) that allows us to overcome many of the limitations of previous work on pollinator effectiveness. Stigmagraphs are high‐resolution macro photographs taken of a flower's stigmas after it receives a visit from a pollinator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees

MacInnis

Forrest

2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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A diverse array of wild bee species may provide more effective pollination than the widely employed European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). High species richness within crop pollinator assemblages has been linked to enhanced fruit and seed yields, but species richness is often confounded with abundance in studies of pollinator communities. We investigated the effects of bee diversity and species identity on pollen deposition and crop yield in the strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) variety Jewel through a field experiment that independently manipulated the species richness and abundance of flower visitors. We used a new pollen deposition measurement technique to determine the pollen contribution of individual bees in an assemblage of flower visits. We compared the performance of wild bee species and managed honey bees, as pollinators of strawberry. We also calculated the influence of species richness, visit frequency and visitor identity on fruit mass, using the fruit that developed from each sampled flower. Species richness of flower visitors did not influence floral pollen loads or strawberry mass. Honey bees and wild bees deposited the same amount of pollen per visited flower. However, strawberries that developed from flowers visited by wild bees were heavier than flowers visited by honey bees. In addition, flowers visited by a combination of wild and honey bees produced strawberries that weighed less than flowers receiving purely WB visits. Synthesis and applications. Our findings show that honey bee pollination results in lower yields than wild bee pollination in a strawberry crop. Consequently, if managed honey bees in strawberry fields displace wild pollinators, growers may obtain suboptimal yields. Management efforts aimed at the maintenance or enhancement of wild pollinator populations may therefore be a cost‐effective way to increase both crop yield and biodiversity on strawberry farms.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees

MacInnis

Forrest

2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…To study how pollen deposition affects fruiting success in northern Peru, we took ultra-macro photographs of flowers directly on the tree and estimated the amount of pollen grains deposited on the style, following Macinnis and Forrest (2017).…”

Section: Pollen Quantitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cacao flower visitation: Low pollen deposition, low fruit set and dominance of herbivores

Vansynghel

Ocampo‐Ariza

Maas

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Pollination services of cacao are crucial for global chocolate production, yet remain critically understudied, particularly in regions of origin of the species. Notably, uncertainties remain concerning the identity of cacao pollinators, the influence of landscape (forest distance) and management (shade cover) on flower visitation and the role of pollen deposition in limiting fruit set. Here, we aimed to improve understanding of cacao pollination by studying limiting factors of fruit set in Peru, part of the centre of origin of cacao. Flower visitors were sampled with sticky insect glue in 20 cacao agroforests in two biogeographically distinct regions of Peru, across gradients of shade cover and forest distance. Further, we assessed pollen quantities and compared fruit set between naturally and manually pollinated flowers. The most abundant flower visitors were aphids, ants and thrips in the north and thrips, midges and parasitoid wasps in the south of Peru. We present some evidence of increasing visitation rates from medium to high shade (40%–95% canopy closure) in the dry north, and opposite patterns in the semi‐humid south, during the wet season. Natural pollination resulted in remarkably low fruit set rates (2%), and very low pollen deposition. After hand pollination, fruit set more than tripled (7%), but was still low. The diversity and high relative abundances of herbivore flower visitors limit our ability to draw conclusions on the functional role of different flower visitors. The remarkably low fruit set of naturally and even hand pollinated flowers indicates that other unaddressed factors limit cacao fruit production. Such factors could be, amongst others, a lack of effective pollinators, genetic incompatibility or resource limitation. Revealing efficient pollinator species and other causes of low fruit set rates is therefore key to establish location‐specific management strategies and develop high yielding native cacao agroforestry systems in regions of origin of cacao.

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Abiotic and biotic drivers of strawberry productivity across a rural-urban gradient

Scherr

Jamieson

2021

Basic and Applied Ecology

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Quantifying pollen deposition with macro photography and 'stigmagraphs'

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees

Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees

Cacao flower visitation: Low pollen deposition, low fruit set and dominance of herbivores

Abiotic and biotic drivers of strawberry productivity across a rural-urban gradient

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