Bailes, E.J. orcid.org/0000-0001-6486-7058, Moscrop, J. orcid.org/0000-0001-7421-5563, Mitchell, S. et al. (4 more authors) (2023) Bumblebee responses to variation in pollinator‐attracting traits of Vicia faba flowers. Ecology and Evolution, 13 (11). e10617. ISSN 2045-7758
Abstract
Adaptations that attract pollinators to flowers are central to the reproductive success of insect-pollinated plants, including crops. Understanding the influence of these non-rewarding traits on pollinator preference is important for our future food security by maintaining sufficient crop pollination. We have identified substantial variation in flower shape, petal size, corolla-tube length, petal spot size and floral volatile compounds among a panel of 30 genetically distinct lines of Vicia faba. Using this variation, we found that Bombus terrestris was able to distinguish between natural variation in petal spot size, floral volatile emissions and corolla-tube length. Foragers showed some innate preference for spotted flowers over non-spotted flowers and preferred shorter corolla-tube lengths over longer tubes. Our results suggest that some floral traits may have significant potential to enhance pollinator attraction to V. faba crops, particularly if paired with optimised rewards.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Bombus terrestris; Vicia faba; attractive traits; corolla‐tube length; flower size; volatile organic compounds |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 16 Jan 2024 12:33 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jan 2024 12:35 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ece3.10617 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:207570 |