Plants pollinated by hummingbirds or bats produce dilute nectars even though these animals prefer more concentrated sugar solutions. This mismatch is an unsolved evolutionary paradox. Here we show that lower quality, or more dilute, nectars evolve when the strength of preferring larger quantities or higher qualities of nectar diminishes as magnitudes of the physical stimuli increase. In a virtual evolution experiment conducted in the tropical rainforest, bats visited computer-automated flowers with simulated genomes that evolved relatively dilute nectars. Simulations replicated this evolution only when value functions, which relate the physical stimuli to subjective sensations, were nonlinear. Selection also depended on the supply/demand ratio; bats selected for more dilute nectar when competition for food was higher. We predict such a pattern to generally occur when decision-makers consider multiple value dimensions simultaneously, and increases of psychological value are not fully proportional to increases in physical magnitude.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aah4219 | DOI Listing |
Curr Biol
December 2024
Julius Kühn-Institute, Institute for Bee Protection, Messeweg 11-12, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany; Technische Universität Braunschweig, Zoological Institute, Mendelssohnstraße 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. Electronic address:
Residues of plant protection products (PPPs) are frequently detected in bee matrices due to foraging bees collecting contaminated nectar and pollen, which they bring back to their hive. The collected material is further used by nurse bees to produce glandular secretions for feeding their larvae. Potential exposure to PPPs occurs through direct oral ingestion, contact during foraging, or interaction with contaminated hive material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFuture Microbiol
October 2024
Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
To determine the efficacy of manuka honey against multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) clinical strains of Typhi. Clinical isolates were processed using the Bactec blood culture system, identification and antibiogram by Vitek 2 and antibiotic resistance genes through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Microbroth dilution assays evaluated the antibacterial activity of manuka honey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
April 2024
Institute of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Collage of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Honey is a natural product that is made by bees from the nectar of flowering plants. There is a flora preference by bees. Like other foods ready to eat,honey can be prone to microbial contamination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Bot
March 2024
Department of Entomology, Plant Sciences Building 4112, 4291 Fieldhouse Dr., University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Background And Aims: Floral characteristics vary significantly among plant species, and multiple underlying factors govern this diversity. Although it is widely known that spatial variation in pollinator groups can exert selection on floral traits, the relative contribution of pollinators and climate to the variation of floral traits across large geographic areas remains a little-studied area. Besides furthering our conceptual understanding of these processes, gaining insight into the topic is also of conservation relevance: understanding how climate may drive floral traits variation can serve to protect plant-pollinator interactions under global change conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Plant Biol
June 2023
Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
Background: Floral nectar is the most common reward flowers offered to pollinators. The quality and quantity of nectar produced by a plant species provide a key to understanding its interactions with pollinators and predicting rates of reproductive success. However, nectar secretion is a dynamic process with a production period accompanied or followed by reabsorption and reabsorption remains an understudied topic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!