BACKGROUND AND AIMS In the UK, the flowers of fruit-bearing hedgerow plants provide a succession of pollen and nectar for flower-visiting insects for much of the year. The fruits of hedgerow plants are a source of winter food for frugivorous birds on farmland. It is unclear whether recent declines in pollinator populations are likely to threaten fruit-set and hence food supply for birds. The pr...

Insect pollination benefits over three quarters of the world's major crops. There is growing concern that observed declines in pollinators may impact on production and revenues from animal pollinated crops. Knowing the distribution of pollinators is therefore crucial for estimating their availability to pollinate crops; however, in general, we have an incomplete knowledge of where these pollina...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) is a large genus of dioecious trees with approx. 260 species. To date, only one pollination study of the genus has reported brood-site pollination by thrips in M. hullettii. In this study, the pollination system of Macaranga tanarius is reported. METHODS The study was conducted on Okinawa and Amami Islands, Japan. Flower visitors on M. tanarius we...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Spatial (herkogamy) and temporal (dichogamy) separation of pollen presentation and stigma receptivity have been interpreted as reducing interference between male and female functions in hermaphroditic flowers. However, spatial separation leads to a potential conflict: reduced pollination accuracy, where pollen may be placed in a location on the pollinator different from the ...

Pollination systems are composed of flowering plants and flower visitors, engaging into mutualistic interactions. However, the flower visitors include true pollinators, which pollinate the flower by visiting it through the legitimate way, and also by cheaters, which use the flower′s resources (e.g. nectar and pollen) without pollinating it or been just marginally efficient on pollination. On th...

An effusion of books and articles on pollination biology has appeared recently, showing a renewed interest in this area of reproductive biology that has strong significance for the continuous evolution of seed plants. Consequently, a comprehensive review is not possible in this paper; topics have been selected and a restricted number of examples given. New findings in "classical" pollination sc...

The reproductive organs of some plants self-heat, release scent, and attract pollinators. The relations among these processes are not well understood, especially in the more ancient, nonflowering gymnosperm lineages. We describe the influence of plant volatiles in an obligate pollination mutualism between an Australian Macrozamia cycad (a gymnosperm with male and female individuals) and its spe...

Biofuel cropping systems are considered a potential source of renewable energy and an integral component of a sustainable energy policy. The type of biofuel crop selected for production has the capacity to substantially alter landscape composition, affecting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. To understand how increasing production of perennial grasses for biofuels may affect pol...