Abstract
Buzz pollination is a specialized pollination syndrome that requires vibrational energy to extract concealed pollen grains from poricidal anthers. Although a large body of work has examined the ecology of buzz pollination, whether acoustic properties of buzz pollinators affect pollen extraction is less understood, especially in weeds and invasive species. We examined the pollination biology of Silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), a worldwide invasive weed, in its native range in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) in south Texas. Over two years, we documented the floral visitors on S. elaeagnifolium, their acoustic parameters (buzzing amplitude, frequency, and duration of buzzing) and estimated the effects of the latter two factors on pollen extraction. We found five major bee genera: Exomalopsis, Halictus, Megachile, Bombus, and Xylocopa, as the most common floral visitors on S. elaeagnifolium in the LRGV. Bee genera varied in their duration of total buzzing time, duration of each visit, and mass. While we did not find any significant differences in buzzing frequency among different genera, an artificial pollen collection experiment using an electric toothbrush showed that the amount of pollen extracted is significantly affected by the duration of buzzing. We conclude that regardless of buzzing frequency, buzzing duration is the most critical factor in pollen removal in this species.
Highlights
A specialized pollination syndrome, is found in ~6% of flowering plants, where pollen grains are concealed inside poricidal anthers [1,2,3,4]
A large body of previous work focused on understanding the role of plant and pollinator characteristics in the context of buzz pollination in various plant families, whether such interactions play a key role in the reproductive success of invasive species such as S. elaeagnifolium is less understood
1) Who are the major buzz pollinators of S. elaeagnifolium in their native range, and 2) How do variations in bee buzzing traits affect pollen extraction? To answer these questions, we used a combination of field and lab studies over two years across the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA, the native range of S. elaeagnifolium
Summary
A specialized pollination syndrome, is found in ~6% of flowering plants, where pollen grains are concealed inside poricidal anthers [1,2,3,4]. The vibrations produced by the bumble bee (Bombus spp.), a major buzzing pollinator, with greater amplitude and longer duration, ejects more pollen in any given foraging effort [25] These studies demonstrate that bee and floral traits can affect acoustic properties of bees during buzz pollination [3]. Previous studies documented the morphological and acoustic characteristics of buzzing bees and their host plants, we are still at the early stages of understanding such species-specific interactions at the community level [14,26,27,28,29] This is more ecologically relevant in invasive weeds, where pollination success, and seed set, is a driving force in invasion success. We asked two major questions. 1) Who are the major buzz pollinators of S. elaeagnifolium in their native range, and 2) How do variations in bee buzzing traits affect pollen extraction? To answer these questions, we used a combination of field and lab studies over two years across the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA, the native range of S. elaeagnifolium
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