Publications by authors named "Xiao-Fang Jin"

Bumblebees are important pollinators for many natural and agricultural systems in temperate regions. Interspecific and intraspecific variation in floral resource preferences have been proposed to influence bumblebee community structure. In particular, sexual dimorphism is a major source of intraspecific niche variation.

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Resource partitioning is considered a key factor in alleviating competitive interactions, enabling coexistence among consumer species. However, most studies have focused on resource partitioning between species, ignoring the potentially critical role of intraspecific variation in resource use. We investigated floral resource partitioning across species, colonies, and individuals in a species-rich bumblebee community in the diversification center of bumblebees.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pollinators influence plant interactions like competition and facilitation through density-dependent processes, impacting plant community dynamics.
  • Three years of field study in the Hengduan Mountains examined how flower density affects pollination of over 100 plant species at different scales (plot-level vs. site-level).
  • Findings reveal that rare plants experience competition at smaller scales but benefit from facilitation at larger ones, with the effects varying based on the pollination niches and floral attractiveness.
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A C(sp)-C(sp) bond can be constructed via a photoredox/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-cocatalyzed radical cross-coupling reaction, which provides a complementary strategy to classic electron pair processes. The present protocol represents the first example of an NHC-catalyzed two-component radical cross-coupling reaction involving C(sp)-centered radical species. The decarboxylative acylation of oxamic acid with acyl fluoride was conducted under mild conditions and allowed the preparation of a variety of useful α-keto amides, including sterically congested ones.

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Herkogamy is an effective way to reduce sexual interference. However, the separation of stigma and anther potentially leads to a conflict because the pollen may be placed in a location on the pollinator different from the point of stigma contact, which can reduce pollination accuracy. Floral mechanisms aiming to resolve this conflict have seldom been explored.

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A sensitive bilobed stigma is thought to assure reproduction, avoid selfing and promote outcrossing. In addition, it may also play a role in pollinator selection since only pollinators with the appropriate body size can trigger this mechanism. However, no experimental study has investigated how the sensitive stigma responds to different pollinators and its potential effects on pollination.

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Background And Aims: It has been suggested that the dynamics of nectar replenishment could differ for flowers after being nectar robbed or visited legitimately, but further experimental work is needed to investigate this hypothesis. This study aimed to assess the role of nectar replenishment in mediating the effects of nectar robbing on pollinator behaviour and plant reproduction.

Methods: Plant-robber-pollinator interactions in an alpine plant, Salvia przewalskii , were studied.

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