Facilitation of pollinator visits among sequentially-flowering plant species

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24770025
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: University of Hyogo (2013-2014); Kyushu University (2012)
• Principal Investigator: KAWAGUCHI Lina 兵庫県立大学, 自然・環境科学研究所, 客員研究員 (80571835)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 送粉 / 種間相互作用 / 花形質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I tested if one plant species can facilitate pollinator visits to subsequently-flowering species with similar floral traits even if their flowering overlap for only a short period. I created patches of potted snapdragons near the wild populations of jewelweeds as a newly-flowering species at the end of the flowering period of jewelweeds. The flower color of snapdragons in a patch was either orange or deep-pink which is similar to the color of jewelweed flower. As a result of observation using interval timer shooting, deep-pink snapdragon flowers received more bumblebee visits than the orange flowers. This result suggests that a plant species can exert a positive impact on the reproductive success of subsequently-flowering species through pollinators’ memory, and such relationship is plausible if those species have similar floral traits. Such interspecific facilitation may act as a mechanism of coexistence of different flower species sharing pollinators in a community.

Free Research Field

行動生態学