pollinators

Pollinator decline not reducing crop yields yet

harminka — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:53:03 -0600

The well-documented worldwide decline in the number of bees and other pollinators is not, at this stage, limiting global crop yields, according to the results of an international study published in the latest edition of the respected science journal, Current Biology.

Flowers evolve different shapes to reduce competition for bat pollination

harminka — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:42:22 -0500

New research shows how different species of plants evolve unique floral adaptations in order to transfer pollen on different regions of bats’ bodies, thus allowing multiple plant species to share bats as pollinators.

Bumblebees make bee line for gardens

harminka — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:19:46 -0500

Britain's gardens are vital habitats for nesting bumblebees, new research has found. The results come from the National Bumblebee Nest Survey, which are published online in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, and the findings will help conservationists understand – and hopefully address – the factors responsible for declining bumblebee populations.

Columbine flowers develop long nectar spurs in response to pollinators

harminka — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:06:17 -0500

In flowers called columbines, evolution of the length of nectar spurs--the long tubes leading to plants' nectar-happens in a way that allows flowers to match the tongue lengths of the pollinators that drink their nectar, biologists have found.

Flowers shape themselves to guide their pollinators to the pollen

harminka — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 10:53:31 -0500

Wide flowers for bats, narrow flowers for hummingbirds in the cloudforests of Ecuador

Nectar includedg amino acids, vitamins and secondary metabolites

harminka — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:26:38 -0600