The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles
ABSTRACT While floral signaling plays a central role in the reproductive success of all animal‐pollinated plants, it may also attract herbivores eager to feed on flowers. False nectaries with glossy surfaces reflecting incident light may produce signals that attract floral visitors guiding their mov...
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2024-10-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70380 |
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| author | Shi‐Jia Wen Shan Chen Andre Rodrigo Rech Ling Ji Hong Wang Zhiyong Wang Ding Wu Zong‐Xin Ren |
| author_facet | Shi‐Jia Wen Shan Chen Andre Rodrigo Rech Ling Ji Hong Wang Zhiyong Wang Ding Wu Zong‐Xin Ren |
| author_sort | Shi‐Jia Wen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT While floral signaling plays a central role in the reproductive success of all animal‐pollinated plants, it may also attract herbivores eager to feed on flowers. False nectaries with glossy surfaces reflecting incident light may produce signals that attract floral visitors guiding their movements to and within the flower. Whether false nectaries also attract herbivores that lower the reproductive success of natural populations requires attention. In this study, we focus on Parnassia wightiana, a subalpine species with a whorl of staminodes that act as false nectaries attracting bees, flies, and herbivorous beetles. We tested the functions of staminodes using controlled manipulative experiments under field and lab conditions. We found a significant decrease in pollinator visits, and subsequent seed set, in flowers in which we removed staminodes or staminode apices confirming the function of these organs. In our natural populations, we found that a beetle, Nonarthra variabilis (Alticinae; Chrysomelidae), chews first on staminode apices, then it eats the entire staminodes and other flower parts, but rarely feeds on ovaries. Additional experiments suggested these beetles preferred staminodes to ovaries. Our results suggest this is a case of selective florivory, in which staminodes play a dual role, attracting pollinators and herbivores at the same time causing the attractive dilemma. Although selective florivory by beetles did not directly damage fruits, it influenced plant‐pollinator interactions, decreasing reproductive success in plant populations. Our study highlights the importance of plant‐pollinator‐herbivore interactions in selecting floral traits. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e3f366cc8d64c979454b6921cfe6593 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e3f366cc8d64c979454b6921cfe65932024-12-20T09:05:58ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-10-011410n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70380The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous BeetlesShi‐Jia Wen0Shan Chen1Andre Rodrigo Rech2Ling Ji3Hong Wang4Zhiyong Wang5Ding Wu6Zong‐Xin Ren7Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Biodiversity Jingdezhen University Jingdezhen ChinaUniversidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri Diamantina Minas Gerais BrazilJiangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Biodiversity Jingdezhen University Jingdezhen ChinaKey Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming ChinaCollege of Forestry Hainan University Haikou ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Biodiversity Jingdezhen University Jingdezhen ChinaKey Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming ChinaABSTRACT While floral signaling plays a central role in the reproductive success of all animal‐pollinated plants, it may also attract herbivores eager to feed on flowers. False nectaries with glossy surfaces reflecting incident light may produce signals that attract floral visitors guiding their movements to and within the flower. Whether false nectaries also attract herbivores that lower the reproductive success of natural populations requires attention. In this study, we focus on Parnassia wightiana, a subalpine species with a whorl of staminodes that act as false nectaries attracting bees, flies, and herbivorous beetles. We tested the functions of staminodes using controlled manipulative experiments under field and lab conditions. We found a significant decrease in pollinator visits, and subsequent seed set, in flowers in which we removed staminodes or staminode apices confirming the function of these organs. In our natural populations, we found that a beetle, Nonarthra variabilis (Alticinae; Chrysomelidae), chews first on staminode apices, then it eats the entire staminodes and other flower parts, but rarely feeds on ovaries. Additional experiments suggested these beetles preferred staminodes to ovaries. Our results suggest this is a case of selective florivory, in which staminodes play a dual role, attracting pollinators and herbivores at the same time causing the attractive dilemma. Although selective florivory by beetles did not directly damage fruits, it influenced plant‐pollinator interactions, decreasing reproductive success in plant populations. Our study highlights the importance of plant‐pollinator‐herbivore interactions in selecting floral traits.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70380floral traitflorivorynectary‐mimicking staminodepollinator attractionreproductive successstaminodes |
| spellingShingle | Shi‐Jia Wen Shan Chen Andre Rodrigo Rech Ling Ji Hong Wang Zhiyong Wang Ding Wu Zong‐Xin Ren The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles Ecology and Evolution floral trait florivory nectary‐mimicking staminode pollinator attraction reproductive success staminodes |
| title | The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles |
| title_full | The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles |
| title_fullStr | The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles |
| title_short | The Functional Dilemma of Nectar Mimic Staminodes in Parnassia wightiana (Celastraceae): Attracting Pollinators and Florivorous Beetles |
| title_sort | functional dilemma of nectar mimic staminodes in parnassia wightiana celastraceae attracting pollinators and florivorous beetles |
| topic | floral trait florivory nectary‐mimicking staminode pollinator attraction reproductive success staminodes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70380 |
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