When pollinators visit flowers, they produce various sounds, from wing flapping during hovering, to landing and takeoff. Scientists studied these vibroacoustic signals to develop noninvasive and efficient methods for monitoring pollinator communities and their influences on plant biology and ecology.
When pollinators visit flowers, they produce various sounds, from wing flapping during hovering, to landing and takeoff. Scientists studied these vibroacoustic signals to develop noninvasive and efficient methods for monitoring pollinator communities and their influences on plant biology and ecology.
The researchers found that the bee sounds led the snapdragons to increase their sugar and nectar volume, and even alter their gene expression that governs sugar transport and nectar production. When pollinators visit flowers, they produce a variety of characteristic sounds, from wing flapping during hovering, to landing and takeoff. However, these sounds are extremely small compared to other vibrations and acoustics of insect life, causing researchers to overlook these insects' acoustic signals often related to wing and body buzzing. Francesca Barbero, a professor of zoology at the University of Turin, and her collaborators -- an interdisciplinary mix of entomologists, sound engineers, and plant physiologists from Spain and Australia -- studied these signals to develop noninvasive and efficient methods for monitoring pollinator communities and their influences on plant biology and ecology. Barbero will present her findings and their impacts on Wednesday, May 21, as part of the joint 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and 25th International Congress on Acoustics, running May 18-23. "Plant-pollinator coevolution has been studied primarily by assessing the production and perception of visual and olfactory cues, even though there is growing evidence that both insects and plants can sense and produce, or transmit, vibroacoustic signals," said Barbero. Barbero and her collaborators played recordings near growing snapdragons of the buzzing sounds produced by a Rhodanthidium sticticumbee to monitor the flowers' reactions. The researchers found that the sounds of bees, which are efficient snapdragon pollinators, led the snapdragons to increase their sugar and nectar volume, and even alter their gene expression that governs sugar transport and nectar production. The flowers' response may be a survival and coevolution strategy, especially if the plants can affect the time pollinators spend within their flowers to increase their fidelity. "The ability to discriminate approaching pollinators based on their distinctive vibroacoustic signals could be an adaptive strategy for plants," said Barbero."By replying to their proper vibroacoustic signal -- for instance, an efficient pollinator's -- plants could improve their reproductive success if their responses drive modifications in pollinator behavior." While it's clear that buzzing sounds can trigger plants' responses, it's less clear whether plant acoustics can also influence insect behavior -- for example, whether sounds from plants can draw in a suitable pollinator. "If this response from insects is confirmed, sounds could be used to treat economically relevant plants and crops, and increase their pollinators' attraction," said Barbero. The team is conducting ongoing analyses comparing snapdragon responses to other pollinators and nectar robbers. "The multitude of ways plants can perceive both biotic factors -- such as beneficial and harmful insects, other neighboring plants -- and abiotic cues, like temperature, drought, and wind in their surroundings, is truly astonishing," Barbero said. The project,"Good Vibes: How do plants recognise and respond to pollinator vibroacoustic signals?" , is funded by the Human Frontier Science Program and is a collaborative effort between the University of Turin, I²SysBio in Valencia, and the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration at the University of Technology Sydney.For the first time, Ethiopian wolves have been documented feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers. This is the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. ... Animals that eat fruit or sip nectar often ingest alcohol because naturally occurring yeasts turning sugar into ethanol. But how do animals feel about that? A new study details an experiment to ... It sounds like modern-day alchemy: Transforming sugar into hydrocarbons found in gasoline. But that's exactly what scientists have done. Researchers report harnessing the wonders of biology and ... Researchers have just elucidated structures of a sugar transport protein that drives transport of sugar in plants. The study provides a comprehensive insight into sugar uptake into plant organs such ...The Scent of Death? Worms Experience Altered Fertility and Lifespan When Exposed to Dead CounterpartsDexterity and Climbing Ability: How Ancient Human Relatives Used Their Hands
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