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Author: Eric Octavio Campos
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 119
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Book Description
This dissertation concerns itself with the role of flower shape in affecting the foraging performance of pollinating animals. The pollinator used in this study is a model organism representing crepuscular hawkmoths in research involving the study of flight neuromuscular physiology and plant-pollinator interactions, Manduca sexta (hereafter Manduca). The broader goal of the work is to develop a new experimental framework for investigating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant-pollinator interactions. To that end, I have combined 3D-printing technology and mathematical modelling to construct artificial flowers, which can be manufactured with great precision and with objective, quantitatively describable shapes. First, I present a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting foraging data from a real animal pollinator attempting to feed from 3D-printed artificial flowers. I show that Manduca’s foraging performance is extremely sensitive to variation in floral corolla curvature and nectary diameter. These results validate the experimental approach that I describe, justifying a large investment of time and financial resources into a major iterative improvement of my experimental apparatus. Next, I describe the improved experimental apparatus and use it to construct a performance landscape of Manduca’s innate foraging performance as a function of variation in flower morphology. This landscape suggests that Manduca’s foraging performance is contingent on a context-dependent interaction between corolla curvature and nectary diameter. Finally, I use data from infrared sensors attached to each artificial flower and custom computer vision software (both improvements over the proof-of-concept apparatus) to identify putative proxies of fitness for both the pollinator and the plant (artificial flower). The goal is to examine whether the pollination mutualism between Manduca and the flowers that it visits in nature could represent a scenario of evolutionary conflict or harmony. The results are inconclusive due to opposing conclusions that the various indirect proxies of flower fitness point to. As a result, I make suggestions for improving the experimental apparatus even further by including a physical touch-sensitive sensor into the design of the artificial flowers. Such a sensor would act as a physical analogue for a real flower’s reproductive structures, allowing the apparatus to yield a direct rather than indirect measure of flower fitness. Still, the general framework of using 3D-printed flower whose shapes are mathematically specified shows great promise for opening up new areas of experimental inquiry in the field of plant-pollinator interactions.
Author: Eric Octavio Campos
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 119
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Book Description
This dissertation concerns itself with the role of flower shape in affecting the foraging performance of pollinating animals. The pollinator used in this study is a model organism representing crepuscular hawkmoths in research involving the study of flight neuromuscular physiology and plant-pollinator interactions, Manduca sexta (hereafter Manduca). The broader goal of the work is to develop a new experimental framework for investigating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant-pollinator interactions. To that end, I have combined 3D-printing technology and mathematical modelling to construct artificial flowers, which can be manufactured with great precision and with objective, quantitatively describable shapes. First, I present a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting foraging data from a real animal pollinator attempting to feed from 3D-printed artificial flowers. I show that Manduca’s foraging performance is extremely sensitive to variation in floral corolla curvature and nectary diameter. These results validate the experimental approach that I describe, justifying a large investment of time and financial resources into a major iterative improvement of my experimental apparatus. Next, I describe the improved experimental apparatus and use it to construct a performance landscape of Manduca’s innate foraging performance as a function of variation in flower morphology. This landscape suggests that Manduca’s foraging performance is contingent on a context-dependent interaction between corolla curvature and nectary diameter. Finally, I use data from infrared sensors attached to each artificial flower and custom computer vision software (both improvements over the proof-of-concept apparatus) to identify putative proxies of fitness for both the pollinator and the plant (artificial flower). The goal is to examine whether the pollination mutualism between Manduca and the flowers that it visits in nature could represent a scenario of evolutionary conflict or harmony. The results are inconclusive due to opposing conclusions that the various indirect proxies of flower fitness point to. As a result, I make suggestions for improving the experimental apparatus even further by including a physical touch-sensitive sensor into the design of the artificial flowers. Such a sensor would act as a physical analogue for a real flower’s reproductive structures, allowing the apparatus to yield a direct rather than indirect measure of flower fitness. Still, the general framework of using 3D-printed flower whose shapes are mathematically specified shows great promise for opening up new areas of experimental inquiry in the field of plant-pollinator interactions.
Author: Nickolas M. Waser
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226873992
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Just as flowering plants depend on their pollinators, many birds, insects, and bats rely on plants for energy and nutrients. This plant-pollinator relationship is essential to the survival of natural and agricultural ecosystems. Plant-Pollinator Interactions portrays the intimate relationships of pollination over time and space and reveals patterns of interactions from individual to community levels, showing how these patterns change at different spatial and temporal scales. Nickolas M. Waser and Jeff Ollerton bring together experts from around the world to offer a comprehensive analysis of pollination, including the history of thinking about specialization and generalization and a comparison of pollination to other mutualisms. An overview of current thinking and of future research priorities, Plant-Pollinator Interactions covers an important theme in evolutionary ecology with far-reaching applications in conservation and agriculture. This book will find an eager audience in specialists studying pollination and other mutualisms, as well as with biologists who are interested in ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral aspects of the specialization and generalization of species.
Author: Makoto Kato
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 4431565329
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310
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Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of mutualism origin, plant–pollinator specificity, mutualism stability, and reciprocal diversification. In particular, it focuses on the natural history and evolutionary history of the third example of obligate pollination mutualism, leafflower–leafflower moth association, which was discovered in the plant family Phyllanthaceae by the lead editor and then established by the editors and their coworkers as an ideal model system for studies of mutualism and the coevolutionary process. This work brings together the knowledge they have gained through an array of research conducted using different approaches, ranging from taxonomy, phylogenetics, ecology, and evolutionary biology to biogeography. Richly illustrated with numerous original color photographs, the volume consists of 13 chapters and is divided into three main parts: natural history, ecology, and evolution. It begins by showcasing numerous examples of plant–animal interactions and their origins to guide readers in the world of leafflowers and their pollinators. The immense diversity of Phyllanthaceae and pollinator moths is then explored, and in the following 7 chapters mutualism is discussed from a range of ecological and evolutionary points of view. The final chapter presents a review of the evolution and variety of obligate pollination mutualisms. This book offers researchers and students in the field of ecology, botany, evolutionary biology, pollination biology, entomology, and tropical biology fascinating insights into why such a costly pollination system has evolved and why Phyllanthaceae is so diverse despite the inconspicuousness of their flowers.
Author: Lawrence D. Harder
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198570856
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 399
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Book Description
Floral biology, floral function, sexual systems, diversification.
Author: Jeff Ollerton
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784272299
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425
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Book Description
A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.
Author: Sébastien Patiny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 113950407X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 501
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Book Description
What are the evolutionary mechanisms and ecological implications behind a pollinator choosing its favourite flower? Sixty-five million years of evolution has created the complex and integrated system which we see today and understanding the interactions involved is key to environmental sustainability. Examining pollination relationships from an evolutionary perspective, this book covers both botanical and zoological aspects. It addresses the puzzling question of co-speciation and co-evolution and the complexity of the relationships between plant and pollinator, the development of which is examined through the fossil record. Additional chapters are dedicated to the evolution of floral displays and signalling, as well as their role in pollination syndromes and the building of pollination networks. Wide-ranging in its coverage, it outlines current knowledge and complex emerging topics, demonstrating how advances in research methods are applied to pollination biology.
Author: Lawrence D. Harder
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191513865
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
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Book Description
The reproductive organs and mating biology of angiosperms exhibit greater variety than those of any other group of organisms. Flowers and inflorescences are also the most diverse structures produced by angiosperms, and floral traits provide some of the most compelling examples of evolution by natural selection. Given that flowering plants include roughly 250,000 species, their reproductive diversity will not be explained easily by continued accumulation of case studies of individual species. Instead a more strategic approach is now required, which seeks to identify general principles concerning the role of ecological function in the evolution of reproductive diversity. The Ecology and Evolution of Flowers uses this approach to expose new insights into the functional basis of floral diversity, and presents the very latest theoretical and empirical research on floral evolution. Floral biology is a dynamic and growing area and this book, written by the leading internationally recognized researchers in this field, reviews current progress in understanding the evolution and function of flowers. Chapters contain both new research findings and synthesis. Major sections in turn examine functional aspects of floral traits and sexual systems, the ecological influences on reproductive adaptation, and the role of floral biology in angiosperm diversification. Overall, this integrated treatment illustrates the role of floral function and evolution in the generation of angiosperm biodiversity. This advanced textbook is suitable for graduate level students taking courses in plant ecology, evolution, systematics, biodiversity and conservation. It will also be of interest and use to a broader audience of plant scientists seeking an authoritative overview of recent advances in floral biology.
Author: David Alan Moeller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 454
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Book Description
Author: Pat Willmer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691128618
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 790
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Book Description
Pollination and Floral Ecology is a very comprehensive reference work to all aspects of pollination biology.
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309102898
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 327
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Book Description
Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.
