木芙蓉的繁育系统及传粉生物学

以木芙蓉为研究材料,运用杂交指数、花粉数/胚珠数、座果率、种子萌发率等指标对木芙蓉的繁育系统及传粉生物学等进行研究。结果表明:木芙蓉单花的花期1 d,整体花期7—11月份;木芙蓉的杂交指数为4,繁育系统为异交、部分自交亲和、需要传粉者;木芙蓉的花粉数/胚珠数为415±11.3,繁育系统属于兼性异交类型;木芙蓉自然座果率为74%;同株同花授粉的座果率为40%;人工异株异花授粉座果率为71%;各种授粉方式下,单个果实的种子个数为128~148,差别不大;各种授粉方式下,平均种子萌发率为47%~60%,没有显著差异;传粉昆虫有蜂类、甲虫,其中中华蜜蜂、黑小蜜蜂为主要传粉昆虫。     

The effects of human disturbance on a stingless bee community in a tropical rainforest

Human disturbance of tropical rainforests may change pollinator communities indirectly as a result of changes in resource availability. We studied the mechanisms by which human disturbance affects a community of major pollinators, stingless bees, in Sarawak, Malaysia. We surveyed forest structure and flowering activity, and conducted a nest census and a bait-trap survey of stingless bees, both in primary forests and in forests disturbed by logging and shifting cultivation. The densities of late successional trees and large trees (diameter at breast height >50 cm) were higher in the primary forests than in the disturbed forests. The density of flowering trees was lower one year after logging, but recovered in old disturbed forests because of the active flowering of pioneer trees that became established after the disturbance. Stingless bees nest only in large trees, and nest density was positively correlated with the density of large trees. However, we found no relationship between the numbers of foragers and floristic parameters. Some species preferred nesting in dipterocarps, while others preferred dead trees. The results of the bait-trap survey also indicated that some species were abundant in the primary forests, whereas other species were abundant in the disturbed forests. These results suggest that human disturbance alters the species composition of the stingless bee community. Such changes in the bee community may affect the reproductive success of plants, and ultimately forest composition.     

Pollination of the invasive exotic shrub Lupinus arboreus (Fabaceae) by introduced bees in Tasmania

Exotic plant invasions threaten ecological communities world-wide. Some species are limited by a lack of suitable pollinators, but the introduction of exotic pollinators can facilitate rapid spread. In Tasmania, where many non-native plants are naturalised, exotic honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) have become established. We determined how these species affect the pollination of Lupinus arboreus, an invasive, nitrogen-fixing shrub, which is rarely visited by native pollinators. The proportion of flowers setting seed and the number of ovules fertilised per flower were positively related to the visitation rates of both exotic bee species. There was no effect of bee visitation rates on the proportion of seeds aborted prior to maturity, possibly due to post-fertilisation environmental constraints. We conclude that the spread of B. terrestris may not alter the fecundity of L. arboreus because of the pollination service provided by A. mellifera, and discuss potential interactions between these two bee species.     

Are forests potential landscape barriers for foraging bumblebees? Landscape scale experiments with Bombus terrestris agg. and Bombus pascuorum (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Habitat fragmentation is generally considered to have detrimental effects on insect movement and associated pollen flow between plant populations. Against this background the role of forests as potential barriers for foraging bumblebees of the species Bombus terrestris agg. and Bombus pascuorum was studied in different experiments. Bombus terrestris agg. workers were found foraging at distances of up to 2.2 km from their nests. B. terrestris agg. as well as B. pascuorum individuals crossed 600 m of forestland between floral mass resources (Phacelia tanacetifolia, Helianthus annuus), although in general a high degree of site fidelity was observed. B. pascuorum workers accepted artificial floral resources within the forest, whereas the minor use of resources below forest canopy observed for B. terrestris agg. possibly indicates a preference for direct forage flights, probably leading above the forest canopy. Our results warn against experiments with genetically modified crop species with potential bumblebee pollination (e.g. Brassica napus), in which an isolating effect of forests is assumed.     

Non-native plants and illegitimate interactions are highly relevant for supporting hummingbird pollinators in the urban environment

Urbanization leads to the restructuring of plant-animal interactions due to environmental changes and introduction of non-native species that become part of local ecological processes. The conservation of pollinators in urban areas has received increasing attention. However, detailed quantification of available floral resources and their use by pollinators are rarely conducted. Here, we characterized the interaction network between hummingbirds and native and non-native plants, the behavior of resource use by pollinators and the temporal availability of nectar resources in an extensive urban green area from Brazil. We found that more than half of the interactions between hummingbirds and plants were illegitimate, which do not constitute potential pollination. The interaction network was generalized, indicating low level of niche partitioning, which is usual for urban environments. Inclusion of non-pollination interactions increased specialization. Although native and non-native plants provide a similar amount of nectar when considering each plant species for a given month, the latter contributed most to the total nectar availability owed to their higher abundance and longer flowering phenologies. Importantly, non-native plants provided resources when native flowers were scarce. Our results show how non-native plants may sometimes have relevant contributions for maintenance of pollinators in cities throughout the year, supporting them during periods of resource shortage. At the same time, urban pollinator-plant communities may be characterized by high prevalence of illegitimate interactions, which highlights the opportunistic use of resources by animals. In conclusion, our study suggests that biodiversity-friendly urban planning should consider the relevant role played by non-native species and that pollinator support may require different types of interactions with flowers.     

Pollinator-dependent food production in Mexico

Animal pollination is one of the essential services provided by ecosystems to humans. In the face of a potential worldwide pollination crisis it is important to assess which countries may be more vulnerable in order to prioritize pollinator conservation efforts. The poverty level, the population density and the level of pollinator dependence for food provisioning are key aspects to identify vulnerable countries. We evaluate these aspects and determine the level of human food provisioning dependence on pollinators in Mexico, a developing and highly populated country. The diversity of crop species in Mexico is exceptionally high. Nearly 85% of fruit and/or seed consumed species depend to some degree on pollinators for productivity. Overall, pollinator-dependent crops generate larger income but cover a lower cultivated area and produce less volume compared to non-pollinator-dependent crops. Volume per unit area, however, as well as revenue per unit area, is much higher for pollinator-dependent crops. Native wild pollinators also play a key role in fruit or seed production of Mexican domesticated plant species and in the reproduction of many useful wild species. Thus, assuring free pollination services is particularly important in Mexico as the livelihood of a large proportion of the population exclusively and directly depends on ecosystem services for subsistence. Feasible conservation strategies involve the payment of environmental services to Ejidos (communal land tenure systems) making efforts to protect or restore plant resources and native pollinators, and the creation of new protected natural areas, which ensures food provision, mating and nesting sites for pollinators.     

The complex responses of social stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) to tropical deforestation

Despite concern over a putative “global pollination crisis”, we still have an incomplete understanding of how bee communities respond to land-use change. I studied the responses of social stingless (or “meliponine”) bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) to surrounding forest cover and floral resources in 35 sites in a largely deforested landscape in Costa Rica over three years, sampling bees with a standardized netting protocol. I recorded a diverse fauna of meliponines, comprised of 20 species and nine genera. I found that meliponine species richness and abundance are strongly related to forest cover, but not floral resource variables (blooming plant species richness and abundance). The effect of forest on meliponine abundance, but not diversity, disappeared when the most common meliponine species, Trigona fulviventris (which comprised ∼45% of sampled individuals), was excluded from analyses. Meliponine community composition, by contrast, was related most strongly to plant species richness, only weakly to forest cover, and not related to blooming plant abundance. This work differs from past work in the same landscape, which did not find evidence of changes in species richness or abundance of meliponines and forest-related variables (distance to forest or forest fragment size), but did find shifts toward meliponine-dominated communities near forests, especially larger ones. The larger true sample size (i.e. number of sample sites) of the present work likely improved the statistical power to detect these relationships. While meliponines are forest dependent, I recorded some species in the smallest forest fragments in the landscape, and as a group they respond strongly to overall forest cover in the landscape (i.e. including both small and large patches of forest). Both of these observations support arguments for preserving even small fragments of forest in agricultural landscapes. Given the ecological and economic importance of meliponine bees, it is imperative that we better understand their long-term conservation needs in the changing tropical landscapes of the world.     

Organic farming in isolated landscapes does not benefit flower-visiting insects and pollination

Organic farming has often been found to provide benefits for biodiversity, but the benefits can depend on the species considered and characteristics of the surrounding landscape. In an intensively farmed area of Northeast Italy we investigated whether isolated organic farms, in a conventionally farmed landscape, provided local benefits for insect pollinators and pollination services. We quantified the relative effects of local management (i.e. the farm system), landscape management (proportion of surrounding uncultivated land) and interactions between them. We compared six organic and six conventional vine fields. The proportion of surrounding uncultivated land was calculated for each site at radii of 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 m. The organic fields did not differ from the conventional in their floral resources or proportion of surrounding uncultivated land. Data were collected on pollinator abundance and species richness, visitation rates to, and pollination of experimental potted plants. None of these factors were significantly affected by the farming system. The abundance of visits to the potted plants in the conventional fields tended to be negatively affected by the proportion of surrounding uncultivated land. The proportion fruit set, weight of seeds per plant and seed weight in conventional and organic fields were all negatively affected by the proportion of surrounding uncultivated land. In vine fields the impact of the surrounding landscape was stronger than the local management. Enhancement of biodiversity through organic farming should not be assumed to be ubiquitous, as potential benefits may be offset by the crop type, organic-management practices and the specific habitat requirements in the surrounding landscape.     

苜蓿切叶蜂(Megachile rotundata F.)雄蜂对大豆不育系结实率的影响

报道了苜蓿切叶蜂雄蜂在网室内对大豆不育系授粉的效果。结果表明,尽管雄蜂的传粉效率显著低于雌蜂,但雄蜂在网室内的传粉效果还是非常显著的。释放雄蜂网室内大豆不育系JLCMS8A和JLCMS17A的平均单株结荚数和粒数分别为10.3个、16.6粒和37.8个、84.3粒,分别是释放雌蜂后结荚率和结实率的35.0%、34.9%和77.5%、70.2%。过去数年的研究结果表明,所有不育系在网室内没有传粉昆虫时,结荚率和结实率均低于3%,表明苜蓿切叶蜂雄蜂在网室内是大豆不育系有效的传粉昆虫。     

苜蓿切叶蜂(Megachile rotunclata F.)雄蜂对大豆不育系结实率的影响

报道了苜蓿切叶蜂雄蜂在网室内对大豆不育系授粉的效果.结果表明,尽管雄蜂的传粉效率显著低于雌蜂,但雄蜂在网室内的传粉效果还是非常显著的.释放雄蜂网室内大豆不育系JLCMS8A和JLCMS17A的平均单株结荚数和粒数分别为10.3个、16.6粒和37.8个、84.3粒,分别是释放雌蜂后结荚率和结实率的35.0%、34.9%和77.5%、70.2%.过去数年的研究结果表明,所有不育系在网室内没有传粉昆虫时,结荚率和结实率均低于3%,表明苜蓿切叶蜂雄蜂在网室内是大豆不育系有效的传粉昆虫.