Mu, J, Chen, Y, Yang, Y et al. (3 more authors) (2016) Seed predators can increase nectar volumes in an alpine daisy: but do the insects benefit? Plant Ecology, 217 (10). pp. 1195-1205. ISSN 1385-0237
Abstract
Pollinators and pre-dispersal seed predators can interact via the plants they share. We examined how pre-dispersal seed predators modify nectar quality and quantity and thereby influence pollinator behaviour. Working in a Tibetan alpine meadow, we hypothesized that increasing levels of pre-dispersal seed predation by larvae of tephritid flies would reduce nectar quantity and quality in Saussurea nigrescens (Asteraceae), and that this would make the flowers less attractive to honeybees, the most frequent floral visitors. Our field experiments showed that floret nectar volumes responded differently to high and low densities of fly larvae, with significant increases when there was one larva present, but decreases when two or more larvae were present in a capitulum. Experimental manipulations of fly larvae yielded the same result. The increases in nectar volume generated by a single larva are likely to be beneficial for these insects in locations where pollinators preferentially visit those S. nigrescens that produce more nectar. At our study sites, honeybees were the main pollinators and visitation rates were unaffected by the changes in nectar volumes, but they are introduced to the area, and native pollinators may be more selective.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Plant Ecology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-016-0646-1. |
Keywords: | Apis mellifera; Asteraceae; Insect–plant interactions; Nectar; Saussurea; Tephritis; Tibetan Plateau |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Nov 2016 12:16 |
Last Modified: | 31 Aug 2017 07:49 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-016-0646-1 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11258-016-0646-1 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108502 |