Floral traits influence pollen vectors’ choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains

doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0080-1

KIB OpenIR

	Floral traits influence pollen vectors’ choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains
	Zhao,Yan-Hui 1,2; Ren,Zong-Xin 1; Lázaro,Amparo 3; Wang,Hong1 ; Bernhardt,Peter 4; Li,Hai-Dong 1,2; Li,De-Zhu1,5
	2016-05-24
发表期刊	BMC Ecology
ISSN	1472-6785
卷号	16 期号:1
摘要	AbstractBackgroundHow floral traits and community composition influence plant specialization is poorly understood and the existing evidence is restricted to regions where plant diversity is low. Here, we assessed whether plant specialization varied among four species-rich subalpine/alpine communities on the Yulong Mountain, SW China (elevation from 2725 to 3910?m). We analyzed two factors (floral traits and pollen vector community composition: richness and density) to determine the degree of plant specialization across 101 plant species in all four communities. Floral visitors were collected and pollen load analyses were conducted to identify and define pollen vectors. Plant specialization of each species was described by using both pollen vector diversity (Shannon’s diversity index) and plant selectiveness (d’ index), which reflected how selective a given species was relative to available pollen vectors.ResultsPollen vector diversity tended to be higher in communities at lower elevations, while plant selectiveness was significantly lower in a community with the highest proportion of unspecialized flowers (open flowers and clusters of flowers in open inflorescences). In particular, we found that plant species with large and unspecialized flowers attracted a greater diversity of pollen vectors and showed higher selectiveness in their use of pollen vectors. Plant species with large floral displays and high flower abundance were more selective in their exploitation of pollen vectors. Moreover, there was a negative relationship between plant selectiveness and pollen vector density.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that flower shape and flower size can increase pollen vector diversity but they also increased plant selectiveness. This indicated that those floral traits that were more attractive to insects increased the diversity of pollen vectors to plants while decreasing overlap among co-blooming plant species for the same pollen vectors. Furthermore, floral traits had a more important impact on the diversity of pollen vectors than the composition of anthophilous insect communities. Plant selectiveness of pollen vectors was strongly influenced by both floral traits and insect community composition. These findings provide a basis for a better understanding of how floral traits and community context shape interactions between flowers and their pollen vectors in species-rich communities.
关键词	Diversity of pollen vectors Floral display Flower abundance Flower shape Flower size Flowering duration Plant-pollen vector interactions Pollen vector density Plant selectiveness Specialization
DOI	10.1186/s12898-016-0080-1
语种	英语
WOS记录号	BMC:10.1186/s12898-016-0080-1
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://ir.kib.ac.cn/handle/151853/61781
专题	中国科学院昆明植物研究所
通讯作者	Wang,Hong; Li,De-Zhu
作者单位	1.Chinese Academy of Sciences; Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany 2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming College of Life Sciences 3.Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies 4.Saint Louis University; Department of Biology 5.Chinese Academy of Sciences; Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhao,Yan-Hui,Ren,Zong-Xin,Lázaro,Amparo,等. Floral traits influence pollen vectors’ choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains[J]. BMC Ecology,2016,16(1).
APA	Zhao,Yan-Hui.,Ren,Zong-Xin.,Lázaro,Amparo.,Wang,Hong.,Bernhardt,Peter.,...&Li,De-Zhu.(2016).Floral traits influence pollen vectors’ choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.BMC Ecology,16(1).
MLA	Zhao,Yan-Hui,et al."Floral traits influence pollen vectors’ choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains".BMC Ecology 16.1(2016).