Floral humidity, a region of elevated humidity in the headspace of the flower, occurs in many plant species and may add to their multimodal floral displays. So far, the ability to detect and respond to floral humidity cues has been only established for hawkmoths when they locate and extract nectar while hovering in front of some moth-pollinated flowers. To test whether floral humidity can be used by other more widespread generalist pollinators, we designed artificial flowers that presented biologically relevant levels of humidity similar to those shown by flowering plants. Bumblebees showed a spontaneous preference for flowers that produced higher floral humidity. Furthermore, learning experiments showed that bumblebees are able to use differences in floral humidity to distinguish between rewarding and non-rewarding flowers. Our results indicate that bumblebees are sensitive to different levels of floral humidity. In this way floral humidity can add to the information provided by flowers and could impact pollinator behaviour more significantly than previously thought.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8246344 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.240861 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Pollen-pistil interaction in Mauritia flexuosa: structural and cytological aspects provide insight into the reproductive success of a dioecious palm with supra-annual flowering in a semiarid environment.
Plant Biol (Stuttg)
January 2025
Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The success of pollen-pistil interaction in Mauritia flexuosa (buriti), a palm adapted to the humid ecosystems, 'veredas', within the Cerrado, is influenced by intrinsic and environmental factors. Its supra-annual flowering, dioecy, and adverse climate conditions pose challenges for fertilization, therefore information on floral biology is essential. This study aimed to ascertain stigma receptivity, and elucidate structural, cytochemical, and ultrastructural aspects of the pollen-pistil relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImproving flavor of Wuyi rock tea processed from rain-soaked leaves by optimizing withering conditions.
Food Chem
January 2025
Anxi College of Tea Science, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Tea Green Cultivation and Processing Collaborative Innovation Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address:
Rainy weather restricts the formation of high-quality Wuyi rock tea (WRT). Herein, an optimized withering process for rain-soaked leaves was developed using response surface methodology. Results showed that increasing the withering temperature, relative humidity, and withering time from 25 °C to 40 °C, 80 % to 97 %, and 3 to 6 h, respectively, effectively improved the sensory qualities of the optimized primary WRT (WRTO) prepared from rain-soaked leaves compared with those before optimization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeyond the field: How pesticide drift endangers biodiversity.
Environ Pollut
December 2024
Department of Evolutionary Ecology & Environmental Toxicology, Faculty Biological Sciences (FB15), Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Environmental Genomics Group, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK; Department Environmental Media Related Ecotoxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Schmallenberg, Germany; LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Airborne pesticide drift poses a substantial environmental threat in agriculture, affecting ecosystems far from the application sites. This process, in which up to 25% of applied pesticides are carried by air currents, can transport chemicals over hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. Drift rates peak during the summer months, reaching as high as 60%, and are influenced by various factors, including wind speed, temperature, humidity, and soil type.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding phenology and its regulation is central for the agronomic adaptation of chickpea. We grew 24 chickpea genotypes in 12 environments to analyse: the environmental and genotypic drivers of phenology; associations between phenology and yield; and phenotypes associated with allelic variants of three flowering related candidate loci: CaELF3a; a cluster of three FT genes on chromosome 3; and an orthologue of the floral promoter GIGANTEA on chromosome 4. A simple model with 3 genotype-specific parameters explained the differences in flowering response to daylength.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAroma Identification and Traceability of the Core Sub-Producing Area in the Helan Mountain Eastern Foothills Using Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography and Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics.
Foods
November 2024
Ningxia Institute of Agricultural Products Quality Standards and Testing Technology, Yinchuan 750002, China.
The combination of volatile compounds endows wines with unique aromatic characteristics and is closely related to their geographical origins. In the pursuit of origin identification and the subdivision of homogeneous production areas, clarifying the characteristics of production areas is of great significance for improving wine quality and commercial value. In this study, GC×GC-TOFMS technology was used to analyze the aroma characteristics of "Cabernet Sauvignon" wines from 26 wineries in the Helan (HL), Yinchuan (YC), Yongning (YN), Qingtongxia (QTX), and Hongsibu (HSP) sub-producing areas in the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain in Ningxia, China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!