Association between community assemblage of flower colours and pollinator fauna: a comparison between Japanese and New Zealand alpine plant communities.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Flower colour plays a major role in the attraction and decision-making of pollinators. Different functional groups of pollinators tend to prefer different flower colours, and therefor may lead to different flower colour compositions among different communities depending on the visual system of the dominant pollinators. However, few studies have investigated the linkage between pollinator fauna and flower colour composition in natural communities, a theme we explored in the present study.

Methods

Flower spectral reflectance of 106 Japanese and 96 New Zealand alpine plants in the wavelength range 300-700 nm were measured. The composition of pollinator fauna in the communities and the types of pollinators for each plant species were also investigated.

Key

SUBMITTER: Ishii HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6377100 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature