The Biomechanics of Buzz Pollination in Shooting Star, Primula Meadia
Mentor 1
Jeffrey Karron
Start Date
10-5-2022 10:00 AM
Description
Floral adaptations that limit pollen removal by wasteful or inefficient pollen foragers have evolved repeatedly in flowering plants. Among the most remarkable of these strategies is the evolution of poricidal anthers, which restrict pollen removal to bees that are able to vibrate flowers at a high frequency, causing pollen to come shooting out of the anther pores and onto the underside of the pollinator. Bees achieve this complex behavior known as “buzz pollination” by keeping their wings still over their abdomen and moving their muscles so that their body vibrates at 320 Hz. This behavior is very energetically costly. Therefore, bees will often only engage in this behavior in large populations of buzz pollinated plants with very large pollen rewards. Eastern Shooting Star (Primula meadia) is a buzz pollinated plant which has its center of abundance in southeastern Wisconsin. To understand how floral vibrations influence the biomechanics of pollen release more fully, we grew P. meadia in the UWM greenhouse and took high quality macro images of the floral morphology. We also took high speed videos of artificially “buzzed” flowers to document the dynamics of explosive pollen release. These videos and images have been instrumental in understanding the biomechanics of buzz pollination and suggest that pollen grains may be influenced by an electrostatic charge as they are released from the anthers.
The Biomechanics of Buzz Pollination in Shooting Star, Primula Meadia
Floral adaptations that limit pollen removal by wasteful or inefficient pollen foragers have evolved repeatedly in flowering plants. Among the most remarkable of these strategies is the evolution of poricidal anthers, which restrict pollen removal to bees that are able to vibrate flowers at a high frequency, causing pollen to come shooting out of the anther pores and onto the underside of the pollinator. Bees achieve this complex behavior known as “buzz pollination” by keeping their wings still over their abdomen and moving their muscles so that their body vibrates at 320 Hz. This behavior is very energetically costly. Therefore, bees will often only engage in this behavior in large populations of buzz pollinated plants with very large pollen rewards. Eastern Shooting Star (Primula meadia) is a buzz pollinated plant which has its center of abundance in southeastern Wisconsin. To understand how floral vibrations influence the biomechanics of pollen release more fully, we grew P. meadia in the UWM greenhouse and took high quality macro images of the floral morphology. We also took high speed videos of artificially “buzzed” flowers to document the dynamics of explosive pollen release. These videos and images have been instrumental in understanding the biomechanics of buzz pollination and suggest that pollen grains may be influenced by an electrostatic charge as they are released from the anthers.
