Abstract Detail

Pollination Biology

KARRON , JEFFREY DAVID [1], Vizelka, Jason [1], mitchell, Randall [2].

Influence of different bumble bee species on reproductive success and mating patterns in monkeyflower, Mimulus ringens..

Over the last decade there have been dramatic changes in the relative abundance and diversity of bumble bee populations, including significant decline of many species both in North America and Europe.  Often several species co-occur sympatrically and it is not known whether these species provide equivalent pollination services for native flowering plants.  To address this question we quantified seed set of Mimulus ringens flowers following individual visits by Bombus fervidus, Bombus impatiens, and Bombus vagans.  These three species coexist in native populations and vary markedly in both body size and foraging behavior. In 2012, mean seed number per fruit following single visits by Bombus vagans (X=3131) was significantly higher than mean seed number resulting from visits by B. impatiens (X=2423). In 2013, mean seed number per fruit was significantly different following visits by all three species.  This suggests that different bumble bee species may not have equivalent contributions to native plant reproduction. Therefore local plant reproduction may be affected by changes in pollinator composition as well as by changes in pollinator abundance.  Future work will explore how visits by different bumble bee species influence pollen receipt, self-pollination rate, mate diversity and gene dispersal.

1 - University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department Of Biological Sciences, PO BOX 413, MILWAUKEE, WI, 53201, USA
2 - UNIVERSITY OF AKRON, Department Of Biology, Department Of Biology, AKRON, OH, 44325-3908, USA

Keywords:
pollination
Plant reproduction
pollinator
mating system.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 32
Location: Firs South/Boise Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
Time: 11:15 AM
Number: 32013
Abstract ID:64
Candidate for Awards:None