Flower colour and size-signals vary with altitude and resulting climate on the tropical-subtropical islands of Taiwan

Bibliographic Details
Title: Flower colour and size-signals vary with altitude and resulting climate on the tropical-subtropical islands of Taiwan
Authors: Mani Shrestha, King-Chun Tai, Adrian G. Dyer, Jair E. Garcia, En-Cheng Yang, Anke Jentsch, Chun-Neng Wang
Source: Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol 15 (2024)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Plant culture
Subject Terms: flora, flower colour, islands, green contrast, colour contrast, insect, Plant culture, SB1-1110
More Details: The diversity of flower colours in nature provides quantifiable evidence for how visitations by colour sensing insect pollinators can drive the evolution of angiosperm visual signalling. Recent research shows that both biotic and abiotic factors may influence flower signalling, and that harsher climate conditions may also promote salient signalling to entice scarcer pollinators to visit. In parallel, a more sophisticated appreciation of the visual task foragers face reveals that bees have a complex visual system that uses achromatic vision when moving fast, whilst colour vision requires slower, more careful inspection of targets. Spectra of 714 native flowering species across Taiwan from sea level to mountainous regions 3,300 m above sea level (a.s.l.) were measured. We modelled how the visual system of key bee pollinators process signals, including flower size. By using phylogenetically informed analyses, we observed that at lower altitudes including foothills and submontane landscapes, there is a significant relationship between colour contrast and achromatic signals. Overall, the frequency of flowers with high colour contrast increases with altitude, whilst flower size decreases. The evidence that flower colour signaling becomes increasingly salient in higher altitude conditions supports that abiotic factors influence pollinator foraging in a way that directly influences how flowering plants need to advertise.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1664-462X
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1304849/full; https://doaj.org/toc/1664-462X
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1304849
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d3368bd8a90a4206a19586d35304a40c
Accession Number: edsdoj.3368bd8a90a4206a19586d35304a40c
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:1664462X
DOI:10.3389/fpls.2024.1304849
Published in:Frontiers in Plant Science
Language:English