4.11.1 Ecological Interactions 118 4.11.1.1 Pollination Services 118 4.11.1.2 Sensitivity/Vulnerability of Pollination Services 119 4.11.1.2.1 Temporal Mismatch 119 4.11.1.2.2 Spatial Mismatch 120 4.11.1.2.3 Alteration of Pollinator Networks 121 4.11.1.2.4 Simulated Biodiversity Loss or Phenological Mismatch 121 4.11.1.2.5 Network Comparison Post Habitat-Alteration 122 4.11.2 Ecosystem Service ...

Numerous studies have examined the evolution of sexual systems in angiosperms, but few explore the interaction between these and the evolution of pollination mode. Wind pollination is often associated with unisexual flowers, but which evolved first and played a causative role in the evolution of the other is unclear. Thalictrum, meadow-rues (Ranunculaceae), provides a unique opportunity to stud...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although some taxonomic studies in the genus Trigonella have been conducted, there has been no concerted effort to study the breeding system. This paper examines the floral structure and pollination system in a population of T. balansae, an annual pasture legume. METHODS Floral morphology, hand and vector pollination, stigma receptivity, pollen tube growth, using scanning ...

The extracellular matrix of stylar transmitting tissues of many angiosperms is enriched in secretory materials that are believed to be important for interactions with pollen tubes. We have previously characterized two related cDNAs (TTS-1 and TTS-2) for stylar transmitting tissue-specific proline-rich proteins (TTS proteins) from Nicotiana tabacum. We show here that TTS proteins are highly glyc...

The ultimate causes of evolution of highly specialized pollination systems are little understood. We investigated the relationship between specialization and pollination efficiency, defined as the proportion of pollinated flowers relative to those that experienced pollen removal, using orchids with different pollination strategies as a model system. Rewarding orchids showed the highest pollinat...

Wind pollination is predominantly a derived condition in angiosperms and is thought to evolve in response to ecological conditions that render animal pollination less advantageous. However, the specific ecological and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for transitions from animal to wind pollination are poorly understood in comparison with other major reproductive transitions in angiosperms, i...

Ecological restoration of plant-pollinator interactions has received surprisingly little attention, despite animal-mediated pollination underpinning reproduction of the majority of higher plants. Here, we offer a conceptual and practical framework for the ecological restoration of pollination mutualisms. Through the use of targeted restoration plantings to attract and sustain pollinators and in...

This paper presents the findings of two studies one conducted on foraging behaviour of Himalayan honeybee (Apis cerana F.) on flowering buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) in November 2001 to 2002 and another on its impact on the grain quality and yield increment of this crop conducted during 2000-2002 under different pollination treatments at Kirtipur, Kathmandu valley. Apis cerana bees st...

Nearly forty years ago R. L. Berg proposed that plants with specialized pollination ecology evolve genetic and developmental systems that decouple floral morphology from phenotypic variation in vegetative traits. These species evolve separate floral and vegetative trait clusters, or as she termed them, "correlation pleiades." The predictions of this hypothesis have been generally supported, but...