Total Visitation Research Articles

Pollination deficits and their relation with insect pollinator visitation are cultivar-dependent in an entomophilous crop

Insects contribute considerably to global crop pollination, with pollination deficits being documented for multiple entomophilous or pollinator-dependent crops. Different cultivars of crops are being cultivated within and across production regions, so it is essential to understand the cultivar variability of pollination deficits. Here, we used a dataset from 286 sites from multiple production regions to develop a synthesis on pollination deficits in two widely cultivated highbush blueberry cultivars, ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Duke’. Additionally, we determined if bee visitation or bee richness reduces pollination deficits in these cultivars. On average, neither cultivar showed pollination deficits regarding fruit set. However, for ‘Bluecrop’ we found pollination deficits for berry weight and seed set, which was not the case for ‘Duke’. Increasing total bee visitation reduced pollination deficits of both berry weight and seed set for ‘Bluecrop’. More specifically, a non-linear, negative exponential model best predicted this relation between bee visitation and pollination deficits. Our results highlight that pollination deficits and responses to pollinator visitation are variable between different cultivars of a single crop, which suggests opportunities to use certain cultivars that are less dependent on insect-mediated pollination in landscapes and regions where pollination services have been compromised. In addition, the non-linear response between bee visitation and pollination deficits suggests that optimal bee visitation rates need to be determined to improve pollination management and crop yield and to support accurate economic valuations of pollination services.

Is the grass greener or the water bluer? Drivers of local park visitation patterns in Phoenix, Arizona

Urban green and blue spaces provide mental and physical health benefits for their surrounding communities, but the key to many of these benefits is the utilization of the urban greenspace for recreation or relaxation. For some communities, use is limited by physical access to the greenspace while for other communities, the characteristics of the greenspace play an important role in encouraging or discouraging use. What drives communities to use their local greenspace with respect to all other available greenspace in an urban area remains an underexplored question. To fill this gap, we leverage a large human mobility dataset to track a year of park visitation by residents across the Phoenix, AZ, metropolitan area combined with a spatial autoregressive model using spatially lagged dependent variables. Our results suggest that it is not vegetation but the presence of water features within a park that encourages higher visitation to local parks. Water features also influence visitation to parks outside a communities local area; its presence within a local park decreased how often individuals visited non-local parks as a proportion of their total park visitation. We discuss the implications of these finding in the context of a desert city that lacks both greenspace and water.

The role of within-plant variation in nectar production: an experimental approach.

Nectar, a plant reward for pollinators, can be energetically expensive. Hence, a higher investment in nectar production can lead to reduced allocation to other vital functions and/or increased geitonogamous pollination. One possible strategy employed by plants to reduce these costs is to offer variable amounts of nectar among flowers within a plant, to manipulate pollinator behaviour. Using artificial flowers, we tested this hypothesis by examining how pollinator visitation responds to inter- and intra-plant variation in nectar production, assessing how these responses impact the energetic cost per visit. We conducted a 2 × 2 factorial experiment using artificial flowers, with two levels of nectar investment (high and low sugar concentration) and two degrees of intra-plant variation in nectar concentration (coefficient of variation 0 and 20 %). The experimental plants were exposed to visits (number and type) from a captive Bombus impatiens colony, and we recorded the total visitation rate, distinguishing geitonogamous from exogamous visits. Additionally, we calculated two estimators of the energetic cost per visit and examined whether flowers with higher nectar concentrations (richer flowers) attracted more bumblebees. Plants in the variable nectar production treatment (coefficient of variation 20 %) had a greater proportion of flowers visited by pollinators, with higher rates of total, geitonogamous and exogamous visitation, compared with plants with invariable nectar production. When assuming no nectar reabsorption, variable plants incurred a lower cost per visit compared with invariable plants. Moreover, highly rewarding flowers on variable plants had higher rates of pollination visits compared with flowers with few rewards. Intra-plant variation in nectar concentration can represent a mechanism for pollinator manipulation, enabling plants to decrease the energetic costs of the interaction while still ensuring consistent pollinator visitation. However, our findings did not provide support for the hypothesis that intra-plant variation in nectar concentration acts as a mechanism to avoid geitonogamy. Additionally, our results confirmed the hypothesis that increased visitation to variable plants is dependent on the presence of flowers with nectar concentration above the mean.

Wild Floral Visitors Are More Important Than Honeybees as Pollinators of Avocado Crops

Wild insects provide pollination services in agroecosystems. Avocado is an economically important crop grown in the Chilean Mediterranean climate region and exported worldwide. Avocado pollination is managed using honeybee hives, while the role of wild insects as pollinators remains poorly known. We quantified the relative contributions of wild floral visitors and honeybees to the fruit set of avocados in two contrasting seasons (2015 and 2016) in Central Chile. Observations were made in 60 trees grown nearby (~300 m) to remnant patches of native sclerophyll vegetation. We found that honeybees and wild insects accounted for 48.6% and 51.4% of total floral visitation, respectively, with a 68% taxonomic similarity of floral visitors between seasons. The presence of honeybees significantly modulated the floral visitor composition and modified plant-pollination network parameters, which resulted in the biotic homogenization of the interaction network, through the increase of shared tree–floral visitor interactions, to the detriment of exclusive interactions. Finally, wild insects were more effective than honeybees in pollinating avocado trees and their contribution was greatest during the dry year. Thus, honeybees alone cannot be relied upon to deliver maximum pollination. We highlight ecological intensification practices to encourage wild insect visits and avoid native vegetation replacement with orchards. Therefore, we emphasize that future ecological intensification research should address agricultural practices to promote wild insects and evaluate the role of native vegetation as wild pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes.

A minimum of 15% semi-natural habitat facilitates adequate wild pollinator visitation to a pollinator-dependent crop

The continued expansion of pollinator-dependent crops increases our reliance on insect pollinators, with wild pollinators providing a considerable proportion of pollination services depending on the crop and landscape context. To ensure pollination services delivered by wild pollinators, it is suggested to conserve semi-natural habitat (SNH) in agricultural landscapes. However, quantitative thresholds of the required amount of SNH to inform policy and farmers are lacking. This study assessed how non-linear models can predict the relationship between wild pollinator visitation and SNH near sweet cherry orchards in Belgium. In addition, I determined a threshold of the required amount of SNH to support pollinator visitation. The relationship between total wild pollinator visitation, bumble bee visitation, solitary bee visitation and wild pollinator richness was best predicted by a non-linear relationship with the proportion of SNH within 250 m around the fields. This study provides empirical evidence on the benefit of using non-linear models to increase our understanding between landscape structure and pollinator visitation. 15% of SNH is the estimated threshold beyond which pollinator visitation did not increase any further. Increasing the amount of SNH to 15%, if it is below this threshold, is recommended to enhance crop pollination in this specific system and region. Conservation of SNH at higher levels than 15% should be maintained for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning.

Wildflowers-pollinator-crab spider predator food-web as indicator of the agroecosystem biodiversity

• The wildflower diversity promotes the diversity of pollinators. • The dominance of a few wildflowers increases pollinators characterized by constancy. • There is no close relationship between wildflower biodiversity and rates of pollinator visits. • Crab spiders are more abundant in less biodiverse wildflower communities. • Crab spiders appear to provide an ecosystem service that reduces the seed-set of dominant species, thus maintaining biodiversity. Wildflowers play a crucial role in the functionality of the agroecosystem food chain. In order to investigate the role of biodiversity in the relationships between wildflowers, relative pollinators and their crab spider predators, six wildflower communities, characterized by a different botanical complexity, were sown in a two-year experiment. The selected Mediterranean species flowered between March and September, with a peak during May. The indices of dominance (D) and biodiversity (H ') of the wildflower communities confirmed two expected levels of floristic complexity of the oligo-specific plant communities (only three species) in comparison to the poly-specific wildflower communities (a further 20 species for each oligo-specific plant community). The greater floristic biodiversity facilitated a greater pollinator biodiversity (bees, solitary bees, bumblebees, lepidoptera, diptera syrphidae and bombyliidae) but the respective total visitation rate was unchanged. In the case of the lower floristic complexity (oligo-specific plant communities), the dominance of bees increased, confirming their tendency to always choose the same wildflower species to visit. The evaluation of the crab spiders detected on flowers, waiting for pollinators, showed a significant reduction in the case of additional botanical complexity. Indeed, significant linear regressions (p < 0.05) showed a direct relationship between the number of crab spiders observed and the dominance indices of the various wildflower communities. The paper also discusses the possible ecological role of crab spiders in the biodiversity sustainability of the various wildflower communities.

Diversity, abundance and foraging behaviour of insect pollinators in Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus L.)

Some of the insect pollinators observed during the experimentation period [Apis dorsata (a) Apis florea (b) Apis cerana (c) Tetragonula iridipennis (d) Lassioglossum sp. (e) Delta conoideum (f) and Danaus chrysippus (g)] • Radish is crosspollinated due to sporophytic system of self-incompatibility. • Fifteen insect species, belonging to three orders were found to visit radish. • Species varied in foraging behaviour: visitation frequency and visitation rate. • Nectar robbing of Apis florea reduced their pollination efficiency. • Apis dorsata deposited maximum number of pollen grains per single visit. Insect pollinators and flowering plants have co-evolved together for millions of years, developing a wide array of mutualistic interactions. Several cultivated plant species depend exclusively on insect-mediated pollination services for their subsistence, reproduction and survival. Radish, Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus , a popular edible root vegetable (Family: Brassicaceae) completely depends on pollinators as self-pollination is totally absent due to sporophytic self-incompatibility. The present study was conducted at the experimental fields of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, to understand the diversity and foraging behaviour of insect pollinators in R. sativus . Continuous survey during the flowering period revealed that a total of fifteen insect species that belong to three insect orders (Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera) were found to visit R. sativus flowers. The most abundant species was Apis florea L., followed by Apis dorsata F . , Tetragonula iridipennis (Smith), Apis cerana F., Lassioglossum sp. and Ischiodon scutellaris F. Floral visitors differed significantly in terms of their visitation frequency, with A. florea (0.76 ± 0.22 visits/flower/ min) being the most frequent visitor followed by A. dorsata (0.66 ± 0.21 visits/flower/ min) and T. iridipennis (0.59 ± 0.14 visits/flower/30 min). The maximum visitation rate was recorded for A. dorsata (7.8 ± 1.40 flowers visited/min) followed by A. cerana (6 ± 1.15). The maximum stay time on individual flower was recorded for Lassioglossum sp. (48.2 ± 3.67 sec) followed by T. iridipennis (44.2 ± 4.24 sec). The maximum numbers of pollen grains were deposited by A. dorsata (206.70 ± 56.45) followed by A. cerana (151.20 ± 31.84). All the floral visitors except A. florea made contact with stigma on every single visit (100 %). While, only 53 per cent of total visitation by the Apis florea led to stigma contact. Further, nectar robbing behaviour was majorly exhibited by A. florea and Delta conoideum compared to all other insect pollinators observed. Based on the overall pollinator effectiveness per day A. dorsata was found to be the most effective single pollinator species.

Sacred church forests as sources of wild pollinators for the surrounding smallholder agricultural farms in Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia

Remnant natural forests act as a source of wild pollinators that are potentially relevant for crop pollination for sustaining the food production system of smallholder farms. In the Ethiopian highlands, sacred forests scattered within agricultural landscapes harbour wild pollinators. The contribution of wild pollinators to crop pollination services to surrounding smallholder agricultural farms is largely unknown. In this study, we empirically assessed the effects of Ethiopian church forest habitats on crop flower visitation by pollinators on smallholder farms in Lake Tana basin, Ethiopia. Crop flower visitation rates were recorded in 72 crop fields along distance gradients within a 1500 m buffer zone around 15 church forest patches. We constructed cross-validated generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to fit the crop flower visitation rates with fixed effect explanatory variables (distance from forest, forest patch size, forest age, forest functional diversity index, forest proximity index and crop type) that are known to potentially influence pollinator visitation in crop fields. Total flower visitation rates decreased with distance to the forest patches across an agricultural landscape. Visitation rates increased with increasing forest patch size, functional richness, proximity index, and age of church forest patches. Overall, we found that the rate of crop flower visitation varies with pollinator-dependent crop types and wild pollinator groups. An in-depth understanding of the forest biodiversity, cultural value, food security nexus enables the promotion of ongoing church forest stewardship in local and regional policies.

Initial floral visitor identity and foraging time strongly influence blueberry reproductive success

Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects subsequent ecological processes. The order that pollinator species visit flowers may affect pollination through a priority effect, whereby the first visitor reduces or modifies the contribution of subsequent visits. We observed floral visitation to blueberry flowers from honeybees, stingless bees or a mixture of both species and investigated how (i) initial visits differed in duration to later visits; and (ii) how visit sequences from different pollinator taxa influenced fruit weight. Stingless bees visited blueberry flowers for significantly longer than honeybees and maintained their floral visit duration, irrespective of the number of preceding visits. In contrast, honeybee visit duration declined significantly with an increasing number of preceding visits. Fruit weight was positively associated with longer floral visit duration by honeybees but not from stingless bee or mixed species visitation. Fruit from mixed species visits were heavier overall than single species visits, because of a strong priority effect. An initial visit by a stingless bee fully pollinated the flower, limiting the pollination contribution of future visitors. However, after an initial honeybee visit, flowers were not fully pollinated and additional visitation had an additive effect upon fruit weight. Blueberries from flowers visited first by stingless bees were 60% heavier than those visited first by honeybees when total floral visitation was short (∼1 min). However, when total visitation time was long (∼ 8 min), blueberry fruit were 24% heavier when initial visits were from honeybees. Our findings highlight that the initial floral visit can have a disproportionate effect on pollination outcomes. Considering priority effects alongside traditional measures of pollinator effectiveness will provide a greater mechanistic understanding of how pollinator communities influence plant reproductive success.

The Effects of Flower Patch Density on Pollinator Visitation.

There is conflicting research regarding how conspecific plant density can affect pollinator visitation, with some studies indicating dense flower patches will receive more visitors and other studies demonstrating the opposite. This study investigated the effects of conspecific density on pollinator visitation in a restored prairie. Three plant species, Penstemon digitalis (Nutt. ex Sims) (Lamiales: Plantaginaceae), Monarda fistulosa (L.) (Lamiales: Lamiaceae), and Eryngium yuccifolium (Michx.) (Apiales: Apiaceae), were observed, with visiting pollinators recorded. Conspecific density did not have an effect on total pollinator visitation rates for any of the focal plant species. However, different groups of pollinators varied in their responses to flower density, notably with larger Bombus spp. tending to visit dense flowering patches more than did other groups of bees. This suggests that plant density may impact certain pollinators differently than others. These results also indicate a possible mechanism through which multiple pollinator species can coexist while only one flowering resource is available, with the foraging behavior of smaller bees potentially allowing them to avoid competition with larger, social bees. Furthermore, a comparison of seed weight demonstrated that E. yuccifolium plants tended to have larger seed sets in isolated individuals, suggesting that flowers in large patches may be pollinated less effectively and are competing for, rather than facilitating, pollinator visits.

Elevated CO2 Impacts on Plant–Pollinator Interactions: A Systematic Review and Free Air Carbon Enrichment Field Study

Simple SummaryClimate change is having a profound impact on pollination systems, yet we still do not know to what extent increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) will directly affect the interactions between plants and their pollinators. We review all the existing published literature on the effect of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on flowering time, nectar and pollen production and plant–pollinator interactions. We also conduct a field experiment to test the effect of eCO2 on bluebells and their pollinators. We found that few studies have assessed the impact of eCO2 on pollination, and our field data found that bluebells flowered on average 6 days earlier under eCO2 conditions. Hoverflies and bumble bees were the main visitors to bluebell flowers, but insect activity was low early in the flowing period. Although we did not find a difference in the number of visits made by insects to bluebell flowers under eCO2, or the amount of seeds those flowers produced, the change in the timing of flowering could mean that a mismatch could develop between bluebells and their pollinators in the future, which would affect pollination success.The impact of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on plant–pollinator interactions is poorly understood. This study provides the first systematic review of this topic and identifies important knowledge gaps. In addition, we present field data assessing the impact of eCO2 (150 ppm above ambient) on bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)–pollinator interactions within a mature, deciduous woodland system. Since 1956, only 71 primary papers have investigated eCO2 effects on flowering time, floral traits and pollination, with a mere 3 studies measuring the impact on pollination interactions. Our field experiment documented flowering phenology, flower visitation and seed production, as well as the abundance and phenology of dominant insect pollinators. We show that first and mid-point flowering occurred 6 days earlier under eCO2, but with no change in flowering duration. Syrphid flies and bumble bees were the dominant flower visitors, with peak activity recorded during mid- and late-flowering periods. Whilst no significant difference was recorded in total visitation or seed set between eCO2 and ambient treatments, there were clear patterns of earlier flowering under eCO2 accompanied by lower pollinator activity during this period. This has implications for potential loss of synchrony in pollination systems under future climate scenarios, with associated long-term impacts on abundance and diversity.

Butterfly species diversity and their floral preferences in the Rupa Wetland of Nepal.

Floral attributes often influence the foraging choices of nectar‐feeding butterflies, given the close association between plants and these butterfly pollinators. The diversity of butterflies is known to a large extent in Nepal, but little information is available on the feeding habits of butterflies. This study was conducted along the periphery of Rupa Wetland from January to December 2019 to assess butterfly species diversity and to identify the factors influencing their foraging choices. In total, we recorded 1535 individuals of 138 species representing all six families. For our examination of butterfly–nectar plant interactions, we recorded a total of 298 individuals belonging to 31 species of butterfly visiting a total of 28 nectar plant species. Overall, total butterfly visitation was found to be significantly influenced by plant category (herbaceous preferred over woody), floral color (yellow white and purple preferred over pink), and corolla type (tubular preferred over nontubular). Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the proboscis length of butterflies and the corolla tube length of flowers. Examining each butterfly family separately revealed that, for four of the families (Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, and Pieridae), none of the tested factors (flower color, plant category, and corolla type) were shown to significantly influence butterfly abundance at flowers. However, Hesperidae abundance was found to be significantly influenced by both flower color (with more butterflies observed at yellow flowers than purple) and flower type (with more butterflies observed at tubular flowers than nontubular flowers). Our results reveal that Rupa Lake is a suitable habitat for butterflies, providing valuable floral resources. Hence, further detailed studies encompassing all seasons, a greater variety of plants, and other influential factors in different ecological regions are fundamental for creating favorable environments to sustain important butterfly pollinators and help create balanced wetland ecosystems.

Social media reveal ecoregional variation in how weather influences visitor behavior in U.S. National Park Service units

Daily weather affects total visitation to parks and protected areas, as well as visitors’ experiences. However, it is unknown if and how visitors change their spatial behavior within a park due to daily weather conditions. We investigated the impact of daily maximum temperature and precipitation on summer visitation patterns within 110 U.S. National Park Service units. We connected 489,061 geotagged Flickr photos to daily weather, as well as visitors’ elevation and distance to amenities (i.e., roads, waterbodies, parking areas, and buildings). We compared visitor behavior on cold, average, and hot days, and on days with precipitation compared to days without precipitation, across fourteen ecoregions within the continental U.S. Our results suggest daily weather impacts where visitors go within parks, and the effect of weather differs substantially by ecoregion. In most ecoregions, visitors stayed closer to infrastructure on rainy days. Temperature also affects visitors’ spatial behavior within parks, but there was not a consistent trend across ecoregions. Importantly, parks in some ecoregions contain more microclimates than others, which may allow visitors to adapt to unfavorable conditions. These findings suggest visitors’ spatial behavior in parks may change in the future due to the increasing frequency of hot summer days.

Association between visitation restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic and delirium incidence among emergency admission patients: a single-center retrospective observational cohort study in Japan

AimThis study aimed to identify the association between total visitation restriction because of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the incidence of delirium for emergency inpatients.MethodsThis was a single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study conducted at a tertiary critical care center in urban Kyoto, Japan. Adult emergency patients hospitalized between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, were recruited. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors’ hospital began restricted visitation on March 28, 2020. This study defined before visitation restriction as January 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020, and after visitation restriction as April 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020. We did not restrict emergency services, and there were no changes in the hospital’s routine, except for visitation restrictions. The primary outcome was the incidence of delirium. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for delirium incidence was calculated to compare the before and after visitation restriction periods, and the logistic model was used to adjust for seven variables: age, sex, ward type on admission, primary diagnosis, ventilator management, general anesthesia surgery, and dementia.ResultsStudy participants were 6264 patients, median age 74 years (56–83), and 3303 men (52.7%). The total delirium incidence in entire research period was 2.5% (158 of 6264 patients), comprising 1.8% (95/5251) before visitation restriction and 6.2% (63/1013) after visitation restriction. The AOR for delirium incidence was 3.79 (95% CI, 2.70–5.31) after visitation restriction versus before visitation restriction. Subgroup analysis showed no apparent interaction for delirium incidence.ConclusionVisitation restriction was associated with an increased incidence of delirium in emergency inpatients.

Identification of effective pollinators of Primula sieboldii E. Morren in a wild habitat in Hiroshima, Japan

AbstractPrimula sieboldii E. Morren is a heterostylous clonal herb that is widely distributed in Japan but in danger of extinction in the wild. The existence of pollinators in each habitat is imperative for its long‐term survival, because seeds can be produced only by insect cross‐pollination between different flower morphs. In this study, we identified the pollinators of P. sieboldii in a wild habitat in Hiroshima as those insects that we observed to (a) put the proboscis into a corolla tube, (b) deposit pollen grains on the proboscis, and (c) have a proboscis of appropriate length and width. Effective pollinators were identified from their contribution to pollination. In 2015 and 2016, the flower visitations of 232 and 558 insects, respectively, were recorded and 85 and 13 insects were captured. Two Bombylius species, B. major L. and B. shibakawae Matsumura, accounted for 90% of flower‐visiting insects in both years. All 14 species that we captured were considered pollinators of P. sieboldii, because they had proboscises that were long enough to reach pollen and that had pollen grains deposited on them. The total visitation rate of “Bombyliidae” was the highest among all pollinator categories. The results of potential pollen transport per flower per hour, which was based on total pollen number and total visitation rate of each pollinator category, indicated that “Bombyliidae” species were the most effective pollinators of P. sieboldii in this habitat.

Mountain landscapes, foraging behaviour and visitation frequencies of insect pollinators on peach (Prunus persia)

The pollination services provided by wild insect fauna in peach depends on many factors, among them the diverse landscapes and habitat diversity is of immense importance contributing to foraging characteristics and hourly visitation frequencies. A considerable variation existed in visitation rate; total visits, percent visitation and total time spend on peach flowers by insect pollinators/visitors during our course of study in low maintained mountainous landscapes. Flower handling times consumed by species created a significant variation between total visitation and visitation rate. Most species prefer to collect pollen however the nectar is main reward from flowers, therefore time per flower sought by hymenopteran species were inherently shorter than lepidopteran and dipteran species. Among the members of genus Lasioglossum the total visits, visitation rate and per cent visitation were found highest by species L. marginatum and overall the order hymenoptera showed comparatively higher visitation rate, total visits and per cent visitation on peach flowers. From members of family Apidae species Xylocopa valga and X. violacea makes highest number of total visits followed by family Halictidae. During the two years of studies, almost 95% of the available peach flowers were visited by foraging wild bees varied significantly as per ANOVA; however, the statistical significance across two years of investigation varies too. The time spend by pollinators/visitors on peach flower bout varies among different species. Rank dominance curve (K-dominance curve) were determined with respect to species abundance and inferences were drawn species wise.

Forest fragments influence pollination and yield of soybean crops in Chaco landscapes

Habitat remnants act as a source of pollinators potentially relevant for crop pollination and yield. This work analyzes how habitat loss influences pollinators, effective pollination and yield of soybean crops. The study area comprises ten sites adjacent to forest patches surrounded by a soybean matrix in central Argentina (eight sites in the season 2014–2015 and two sites in the season 2015–2016). Pollination was estimated by pollen deposition and frequency of flower visitors. Pollen deposition on stigmas and seed set were measured comparing open plants and plants with pollinator exclusion. These response variables were compared considering increasing distance to the forest edge and an increasing gradient of forest patch size. Bees were the most frequent visitors of soybean flowers, especially honeybees, but also at least three native bee species were recorded. Open plants showed higher rates of stigmatic pollen deposition than plants with pollinator exclusion, but seed set was similar. Total insect visitation rates, especially of native insects, decreased with distance to the forest edge and so did pollen deposition. Pollen deposition and seed set increased with increasing forest patch size for plants located near and far from the forest edge, respectively. Overall, our results suggest that the contribution of native pollinators from local forest patches is important for effective pollination across the landscape. Small patches of forest (approximately 1 ha.) guarantee pollinators to ensure plant yields similar to the yields of plants growing close to large patches, but only at short distances; while larger forest patches provide better pollination services for the crop at larger distances from the forest edge. However, we encourage further studies because results suggest that other factors may also influence soybean pollination and production.

Www.gigisehat.id for Easy of Access to Valid Dental Health Information for Mothers of Kindergarteners

Background: Parental attentiveness is critical during early childhood age. In consideration of the fact that child dentalhealth problems are linked to parents’ dental health, it is necessary to not only focus on children in promoting dentalhealth strategy, but also to parents and close relatives. An epidemiological study on social support as a determinantfactor to maternal behavior in dental and oral health care in 3–7 years old children confirmed that the four componentsof social support (informational, appraisal, instrumental, and emotional) are linked to maternal behavior. Furthermore,although there has been a high caries severity index, the total visitation to the Public Health Centre is low regardless ofwhether more than 50% of the respondents claimed they are covered by BPJS Health Insurance and are active in socialmedia. The reluctance of mothers to access information related to dental and oral health care have cost children’s dentaland oral health www.gigisehat.id is expected to serve as a source of information related to dental and oral health formothers. Purpose: To serve as a source of information related to child dental and oral health care for mothers. Methods:The website link was shared through the NgobrolOnline discussion group and distribution of the illustrated book. Results:29 participants (64.4%) have accessed the www.gigisehat.id. Conclusion: www.gigisehat.id was accepted and effectivein disseminating information about child dental and oral health care, especially for mothers under Keputih Public HealthCenter coverage.

Pollinator Communities of Restored Sandhills: a Comparison of Insect Visitation Rates to Generalist and Specialist Flowering Plants in Sandhill Ecosystems of Central Florida

Globally, urbanization and other forms of land use change have been implicated in widespread pollinator declines and disruptions to plant–pollinator interactions. A growing body of literature, however, suggests that urban habitat fragments can provide oases for both plant and insect diversity. A micro-ecosystem on our college campus was created to represent the longleaf pine savannas (sandhills) that once dominated upland ridges throughout the Southeast. To assess the ability of this site to support wild insect pollinators, from May through August for three years (2016–2018) we compared visitation to two abundant flowering plant species, Bidens alba (a generalist-pollinated composite) and Chamaecrista fasciculata (a specialist-pollinated legume), between the campus micro-ecosystem and a nearby site within a large conservation area containing sandhill habitat undergoing restoration. We found that, for both plant species, total insect visitation rates did not differ between years or sites, suggesting that the small urban fragment is capable of maintaining abundant pollinators. The identity of generalist visitors to Bidens alba, however, differed dramatically between sites. Wild hymenopterans constituted more than two-thirds of all insect visits in the campus site but less than half in the conservation area, where butterflies, flies, and beetles were also common visitors. The high density of flowers in the campus site is likely at least partially responsible for the high abundance of hymenopterans, a result consistent with that of many other studies showing that hymenopterans are less sensitive to urbanization than are other insect groups.

Pollinator visitation rate and effectiveness vary with flowering phenology.

Flowering time may influence pollination success and seed set through a variety of mechanisms, including seasonal changes in total pollinator visitation or the composition and effectiveness of pollinator visitors. We investigated mechanisms by which changes in flowering phenology influence pollination and reproductive success of Mertensia ciliata (Boraginaceae). We manipulated flowering onset of potted plants and assessed the frequency and composition of pollinator visitors, as well as seed set. We tested whether floral visitors differed in their effectiveness as pollinators by measuring pollen receipt and seed set resulting from single visits to virgin flowers. Despite a five-fold decrease in pollinator visitation over four weeks, we detected no significant difference in seed set among plants blooming at different times. On a per-visit basis, each bumblebee transferred more conspecific pollen than did a solitary bee or a fly. The proportion of visits by bumblebees increased over the season, countering the decrease in visitation rate so that flowering time had little net effect on seed set. This work illustrates the need to consider pollinator effectiveness, along with changes in pollinator visitation and species composition to understand the mechanisms by which phenology affects levels of pollination.