I'm looking for papers in which researchers accessed the role of floral parts as signal (or mechanical-fit) trait by removing (or modifying) them and then recorded flower visits and plant fitness. Could anyone help me?
Olá, Liedson, tudo bem?
Há trabalhos do von Helversen que eles retiram a pétala estandarte de Mucuna para ver a influência desta parte floral na polinização por morcegos.
Abraço
I am not aware of any work relating to this. But, with my field experience, I can say for sure that removal of such potential parts would negatively affect pollination rate since nectar would be exposed then to both appropriate and inappropriate insects or other biotic vectors.
Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii, 2004, 65(6), p. 490-499 (in Russian).
The Flower and Blossom Morphology of Asteraceae Correlates With Composition
of Their Pollinators
G. M. Dlussky, K. P. Glazunova, N. V. Lavrova
The correlation between flower morphology and share of different insect groups visiting them was studied for 15 Asteraceae species. We measured length and width of corolla tube of 100 flowers of each plant species and determined proportions of main groups of anthophilous insects during all blooming period. According to corolla length species under study ranged more or less uniformly from 2.16 mm (Tripleurospermum inodorum) up to 21.06 mm (Cirsium heterophyllum). The correlation between share of long-tongued bees (mainly bumblebees) among all visitors of inflorescens and corolla length was positive (r = 0.737, P < 0.01) while for short-tongued flies (Syrphidae, Muscidae, Calliphoridae) it was negative (r = -0.869, P < 0.01). It is interesting, that the point of crossing of regression lines (12 mm) approximately coincides with change in inflorescences coloration. Plants with corolla length less than 10 mm have yellow or white inflorescences that are visited primarily by flies, while the plants with longer corolla have violet or dark blue inflorescences, by bumblebees. The dependence of proportion of short-tongued solitary bees (Andrenidae, Halictidae) on a corolla length was non-linear. It increased with increase in corolla length in an interval of 2.16-6.26 mm (r = 0.930, P < 0.1), but decreased for longer corollas (r = -0.680, P < 0.05). The correlation between corolla length and proportions of beetles and butterflies were insignificant.
Golding, Y. C., M. S. Sullivan, and J. P. Sutherland. 1999. Visits to manipulated flowers by Episyrphus balteatus (Diptera : Syrphidae): Partitioning the signals of petals and anthers. Journal of Insect Behavior 12:39-45.
Gaudeul, M. & Till-Bottraud, I. (2003) Low selfing in a mass-flowering, endangered perrenial, Eryngium alpinum L. (Apiaceae). American Journal of Botany, 90, 716-723.
I thought I'd provided an answer to this question but it's not showing. Odd. Anyway, I wanted to say that the kind of manipulation of floral parts that you are talking about has been quite commonly done and can be an effective test of floral function, as the examples here show. He's one from my group (there's a PDF on ResearchGate):
Lamborn, E. & Ollerton, J. (2000) Experimental assessment of the functional morphology of inflorescences of Daucus carota (Apiaceae): testing the “fly catcher effect”. Functional Ecology 14: 445-454
Also look for work by Scott Armbruster on Dalechampia, and Paul Wilson on Impatiens.
Please see the attached publication. Removing the labellum of Cypripedium montanum produced the same results as placing a bag over the flower to exclude insects. When the labellum was removed bee species, found previously to carry the orchid's pollen, failed to contact the anthers and remove pollen. Fruit set in a flower lacking its labellum was 0 as in a flower kept in a bag for its floral life span. Without the labellum visiting bees appear to be unable to disperse pollen or leave pollen on receptive stigmas.
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