 |
|
Flowers shape themselves to guide their pollinators to the pollen
April 04, 2007Wide flowers for bats, narrow flowers for hummingbirds in the cloudforests of Ecuador
Why do flowers specialize on different pollinators? For example, both bats and hummingbirds pollinate plants in tropical forests; why adapt to just one instead of using both? Biologists often assume that tradeoffs contribute to such specialization (the jack of all pollinators is master of none), yet surprisingly little evidence exists in support of this idea. Nathan Muchhala from the University of Miami explored pollinator specialization through experiments with bats, hummingbirds, and artificial flowers in cloudforests of Ecuador. In a study published in the April issue of the American Naturalist, he reports that the fit between flower and pollinator is key: bats pollinate wide flowers better, while hummingbirds transfer more pollen between narrow flowers. Videotaping demonstrated that a poor fit fails to correctly guide the pollinator while feeding. This tradeoff in adapting to bats vs. hummingbirds is strong enough to favor specialization on one or the other. Nathan says, "While all leaves tend to look similar, flowers come in a spectacular variety of shapes and colors. This study suggests tradeoffs in adapting to different pollinators may have played an important role in the evolution of such diversity."
University of Chicago Press Journals
Pollinator Current Events and Pollinator News RSSBizarre walking bat has ancient heritage
A bizarre New Zealand bat that is as much at home walking four-legged on the ground as winging through the air had an Australian ancestor 20 million years ago with the same rare ability, a new study has found.
Remembrance of things past influences how female field crickets select mates
UC Riverside biologists researching the behavior of field crickets have found for the first time that female crickets remember attractive males based on the latter's song, and use this information when choosing mates.
Flight of the bumble (and honey) bee
Insects such as honeybees and bumble bees are predictable in the way they move among flowers, typically moving directly from one flower to an adjacent cluster of flowers in the same row of plants.
Saving our bees
Most of the world's plant species rely on animals to transfer their pollen to other plants. The undisputed queen of these animal pollinators is the bee, made up of about 30,000 species worldwide, whose daily flights aid in the reproduction of more than half of the world's flowering plants.
Climate change could severely impact California's unique native plants
The native plants unique to California are so vulnerable to global climate change that two-thirds of these "endemics" could suffer more than an 80 percent reduction in geographic range by the end of the century.
Newly Compiled Online Bee Checklist Allows Biologists To Link Important Information About All Bee Species
n time for National Pollinator Week, June 22 through June 28, biologists have completed an online effort to compile a world checklist of bees. They have identified nearly 19,500 bee species worldwide, about 2,000 more than previously estimated.
How to share a bat
New research shows how different species of plants evolve unique floral adaptations in order to transfer pollen on different regions of bats' bodies, thus allowing multiple plant species to share bats as pollinators.
Size and positioning of floral anthers facilitates pollen collection by bees
Unlike moths and butterflies that are often brilliantly colored to warn potential predators that they carry toxins, flowers and the fruits they produce have brilliant colors and unusual shapes because they want to attract the attention of pollinators and frugivores who will disperse their pollen and seed, thus guaranteeing the next generation.
Columbine flowers develop long nectar spurs in response to pollinators
In flowers called columbines, evolution of the length of nectar spurs--the long tubes leading to plants' nectar--happens in a way that allows flowers to match the tongue lengths of the pollinators that drink their nectar, biologists have found.
Bumble bees can estimate time intervals
In a finding that broadens our understanding of time perception in the animal kingdom, researchers have discovered that an insect pollinator, the bumble bee, can estimate the duration of time intervals.
More Pollinator Current Events and Pollinator News Articles
 |
Pollinator Conservation Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Protecting, and Providing Habitat for Native Pollinator Insects by Matthew Shepherd (Author), Stephen L. Buchmann (Author), Mace Vaughan (Author), Scott Hoffman Black (Author) The Pollinator Conservation Handbook is an indispensable resource for gardeners, farmers, and managers of parks, recreational areas, and wild lands. It will guide you through the steps for creating and improving habitat for insect pollinators, including selecting and planting forage flowers, providing nesting and egg-laying sites, and caring for your pollinator habitat over time. The Handbook also contains an extensive resources section and ideas for educational activities. |
 |
Pollinator by Hydro-Gardens The pollinator uses a AA battery to drive a counterweight that, when loosely held, does an excellent job of vibrating the cluster of blossoms. Tomato flowers must be pollinated vigorously to get larger and more uniform fruit by increasing seed count. |
 |
The Forgotten Pollinators by Stephen L. Buchmann (Author), Gary Paul Nabhan (Author), Paul Mirocha (Illustrator) Consider this: Without interaction between animals and flowering plants, the seeds and fruits that make up nearly eighty percent of the human diet would not exist. In The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen L. Buchmann, one of the world's leading authorities on bees and pollination, and Gary Paul Nabhan, award-winning writer and renowned crop ecologist, explore the vital but little-appreciated relationship between plants and the animals they depend on for reproduction-bees, beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bats, and countless other animals, some widely recognized and other almost unknown. Scenes from around the globe-examining island flora and fauna on the Galapagos, counting bees in the Panamanian rain forest, witnessing an ancient honey-hunting ritual in Malaysia-bring to... |
 |
Buzzy's Pollinator Shock Pump, 200psi (Aluminum Pump with Schrader Anti-Leak Chuck, Pressure Relief Valve, Includes Inflation Needle, SID Adaptor) by Buzzy's Aluminum barrelSchrader anti-leak chuck200psi gauge with pressure relief valveIncludes inflation needle and Rock Shox SID adaptor Item SpecificationsPSI200PSI |
 |
Status of Pollinators in North America by Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America (Author), National Research Council (Author) Pollinators - insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction - are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination.This book provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honeybee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often... |
 |
3" button / pin printed with bees, animals, cross section, insect, pollination, beehive, pollinator, cutaway, bikupa, hive by Shopzeus Customized 3" button / pin. |
 |
Onesie with butterfly, invertebrate, nymphalid, insect, pollination, "painted lady", animal, pollinator, arthropod, fjarril by Shop Zeus |
 |
Teddy Bear with bees, animals, cross section, insect, pollination, beehive, pollinator, cutaway, bikupa, hive t-shirt by SHOPZEUS 7 inch tall soft teddy bear with personalized white t-shirt. |
 |
Decorated Mouse Pad with honey, social, insect, pollination, pollinator, honeybee, invertebrate, bi, stinging, animal, arthropod, bee by SHOPZEUS Professional "Brite White" fabric mouse pads are among the most versatile and durable, providing brilliant graphic reproduction for spot color or full color imprints. This durable polyester surface is above industry standards and provides a superior product value overall. Designed to reproduce vibrant detailed images. Our mouse pads have white fabric top with the 100% genuine black rubber base (not the cheap foam your seen on other advertisements). |
 |
Decorated Mouse Pad with butterfly, invertebrate, nymphalid, insect, pollination, "painted lady", animal, pollinator, arthropod, fjarril by SHOPZEUS Professional "Brite White" fabric mouse pads are among the most versatile and durable, providing brilliant graphic reproduction for spot color or full color imprints. This durable polyester surface is above industry standards and provides a superior product value overall. Designed to reproduce vibrant detailed images. Our mouse pads have white fabric top with the 100% genuine black rubber base (not the cheap foam your seen on other advertisements). |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |