Abstract
Nectar-robbing has the potential to strongly affect male and female reproductive fitness of plants. One example of nectar theft is that shown by striped-squirrels (Tamiops swinhoei) on a number of ginger species, including Alpinia roxburghii and A. kwangsiensis (Zingiberaceae). In this study, we used a fluorescent dye as a pollen analogue, and measured fruit and seed output, to test the effect of squirrel nectar-robbing on A. roxburghii reproductive fitness. Pollen transfer between robbed and unrobbed flowers was assessed by comparing 60 randomly established plots containing robbed and unrobbed flowers. The frequency of squirrel robbing visits and broken styles were recorded from a number of flowers for five consecutive days. Two bee species (Bombus eximius and Apis cerana), were the primary pollinators, and their visitation frequency was recorded for six consecutive days. The results showed that fluorescent powder from unrobbed flowers was dispersed further, and to a greater number of flowers than that placed on robbed flowers. Additionally, robbing flowers caused significant damage to reproductive organs, resulting in lower fruit and seed sets in robbed than in unrobbed flowers and influencing both male and female fitness. The frequency of the primary pollinator visits (B. eximius) was significantly higher for unrobbed plants than for robbed plants. The present study clearly shows the negative impact of squirrel robbing on A. roxburghii male reproductive fitness and neutral impact on female reproductive fitness.
Highlights
Many previous studies have shown that legitimate pollinators and nectar robbers display different behaviours and which may influence plant reproductive success
Pollen dispersal decreased with increasing distance and was lower in robbed Four-Directional Plot (FDP) compared to unrobbed FDP (Fig 3A; Table 1)
The percentage frequency of pollen transfer distance as affected by squirrel robbing was as follows: West to East (W-E) direction; 13% of pollen dispersed from robbed plot and 24% from unrobbed plot, North to South (N-S) direction; 0.8% of pollen dispersed from robbed plot and 31% from unrobbed plot, East to West (E-W) direction; 18% of pollen dispersed from robbed plot and 26% from unrobbed plot, and South to North (S-N) direction; 17% and 25% of pollen transferred from robbed and unrobbed plots, respectively
Summary
Many previous studies have shown that legitimate pollinators and nectar robbers display different behaviours and which may influence plant reproductive success. Birds and mammals, generally make a hole at the base of the flower corolla through. Effects of Nectar-Robbing on Alpinia (119103KP11), awarded to M. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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