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Ancient insect vision tuned for flight amongst rocks and plants underpins natural flower colour diversity - rock, mineral, stick, bark, leaf, bird- and insect-flower petal reflectance spectra

Understanding the origins of flower colour signalling to pollinators is fundamental to evolutionary biology and ecology. Flower colour evolves under pressure from visual systems of pollinators, like birds and insects, to establish global signatures among flowers with similar pollinators. However, an understanding of the ancient origins of this relationship remains elusive. Here, we employ computer simulations to generate artificial flower backgrounds assembled from real material sample spectra of rocks, leaves, and dead plant materials, against which to test flowers' visibility to birds and bees. Our results indicate how flower colours differ from their backgrounds in strength, and the distributions of salient reflectance features when perceived by these key pollinators, to reveal the possible origins of their colours. Since Hymenopteran visual perception evolved before flowers, the terrestrial chromatic context for its evolution to facilitate flight and orientation consisted of rocks, leaves, sticks, and bark. Flowers exploited these pre-evolved visual capacities of their visitors, and in response evolved chromatic features to signal to bees, and differently to birds, against a backdrop of other natural materials. Consequently, it appears that today's flower colours may be an evolutionary response to the vision of diurnal pollinators navigating their world millennia prior to the first flowers.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2024View details →

Dataset and R-scripts to the manuscript: Beyond salinity: plants show divergent responses to soil ion composition

Dataset and R-scripts to the article: Pätsch R., Midolo G., Dítě Z., Dítě, D., Wagner, V., Pavonič, M., Danihelka, J., Preislerová Z., Ćuk M., Stroh H.G., Tóth T., Chytrá H., Chytrý M. (2024) Beyond salinity: plants show divergent responses to soil ion composition. Global Evology and Biogeography, 00, e13821. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13821%E2%80%8B" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13821</a>

Data from: The impact of plant genetic variation, drought, and leaf nitrogen on plant-herbivore interactions

Plant genotype, drought stress, and their interaction are among the factors contributing to the susceptibility of plants to herbivory. The plant's nitrogen concentration, a critical and often limiting nutrient, differs with plant genotype and drought. Still, few studies have investigated the impact of the interaction of genotype and drought on herbivory and plant nitrogen. We established a common garden in Duluth, MN, of tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima, collected from a local Minnesota site to analyze the effects of goldenrod genotype and drought stress on leaf nitrogen and the preference and performance of the chrysanthemum lace bug, Corythucha marmorata. Lace bugs had oviposition, nymph, and adult preferences among host plant genotypes, water treatments, and among genotype and water treatment combinations. Nymph and adult survival and adult mass varied significantly due to plant genotype, water treatment, the interaction of plant and water treatment, and the interaction of treatment with lace bug density. Oviposition preference and offspring performance were significantly positively related. Leaf nitrogen increased with the increasing severity of the water limitation in the absence of lace bugs. However, in the presence of lace bugs, there was no difference in nitrogen among water treatments.

Leaf and shoot apical meristem transcriptomes of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in response to photoperiod and plant development

Our study focused on identifying key genes regulating flowering time and photoperiod response in quinoa. We examined the timing of photoperiod-induced floral transition and analyzed transcriptomes in photoperiod-sensitive and -insensitive quinoa accessions' leaf and shoot apical meristems. Histological analysis showed that floral transition in quinoa initiates two to three weeks after sowing. We found four groups of differentially expressed genes annotated in the QQ74-V2 reference genome that responded to plant development and floral transition, (i) 222 genes responsive to photoperiod in leaves, (ii) 1,812 genes differentially expressed between accessions under long-day conditions in leaves, (iii) 57 genes responding to developmental changes between weeks under short-day conditions in leaves, and (iv) 911 genes responding to floral transition within the shoot apical meristem. Interestingly, among numerous candidate genes, two putative FT orthologues and others (e.g., SOC1, COL, AP1) have been reported as key regulators of flowering time in other species. Additionally, we used co-expression networks to associate novel transcripts to a putative biological process based on the annotated genes within the same co-expression cluster. The candidate genes in this study would benefit quinoa breeding by identifying and integrating their beneficial haplotypes in crossing programs to develop adapted cultivars to diverse environmental conditions. We examined the timing of photoperiod-induced floral transition and analyzed transcriptomes in photoperiod-sensitive and -insensitive quinoa accessions' leaf and shoot apical meristems. Histological analysis revealed floral transition initiating two to three weeks after sowing. Differentially expressed genes were categorized in the QQ74-V2 reference genome, encompassing 222 genes responsive to photoperiod in leaves, 1,812 genes under long-day conditions, 57 genes during short-day conditions, and 911 genes during floral transition in shoot apical meristems. Notably, among numerous candidates, two putative FT orthologues and others (e.g., SOC1, COL, AP1) implicated in flowering time regulation in various species were identified. Co-expression networks associated novel transcripts with putative biological processes based on annotated genes in the same cluster. The candidate genes identified have potential applications in quinoa breeding, facilitating the incorporation of beneficial haplotypes in crossbreeding programs to develop cultivars adapted to diverse environmental conditions.

Non-target woody plant responses to broadcast herbicide treatment for mesquite and pricklypear control

Aerial spraying of herbicides is an option for treating undesirable woody species on grasslands and rangelands, but few studies have determined the effects of these products on non-target woody plants important to wildlife. A recently introduced herbicide containing a mixture of clopyralid and aminopyralid ("CA") is thought to be specific to honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) control. Our objective was to document the effects of CA alone and mixed with other brush herbicides, including picloram and triclopyr, on two target species, honey mesquite and pricklypear (Opuntia spp.), and two non-target woody plants, lotebush (Zizyphus obtusifolia) and hackberry (Celtis laevigata var reticulata). Treatments were 1) CA, 2) CA + triclopyr (CA+Tr), 3) CA + picloram (CA+Pc), and 4) clopyralid + triclopyr (Cp+Tr). We applied aerial spray treatments on four, 4-ha replicated plots of mature mesquite thickets that also contained pricklypear in each of 3 consecutive years in north-central Texas and evaluated plots at 1 year and 2 years post-treatment (YPT). We developed a tolerance-rating model with 5 levels (highly tolerant, tolerant, moderately tolerant, moderately susceptible, and susceptible) that integrated stand-level percent whole plant mortality (root-kill) and percent canopy reduction of surviving plants. Mesquite was susceptible to all treatments in all spray years. Pricklypear was susceptible to CA+Pc [root-kill more than doubled (33 to 84%) from 1 to 2 YPT], but highly tolerant of the other treatments. Lotebush was highly tolerant or tolerant of all treatments. Hackberry was tolerant of CA and Cp+Tr but susceptible to CA+Pc. The negative effect of CA+Pc on hackberry was greater when hackberry was drought-stressed. We recommend inspection of drought status, foliage condition, and abundance of non-target woody species prior to broadcast spraying for control of targeted woody species or cacti.

Struggling to survive: A comparison of Vanessa cardui larval survivorship on putative host plants

The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is a generalist herbivore with a global distribution. In North America, over 100 species have been identified as V. cardui larval host plants. This cosmopolitan species is commercially available in all life stages and can be reared on an artificial diet. As a result, V. cardui commonly serves as a model organism for education and outreach. However, gaps in our knowledge remain with regard to V. cardui ecology and larval host plant suitability for supporting complete development of larvae to reproductive adulthood. In a laboratory setting, we tested host plant suitability of five reported host plants commonly found in California sage scrub ecosystems by assessing survival of V. cardui caterpillars in their entirety. We also assessed how commercially sourced larvae survived on an artificial diet: both raising the caterpillars exclusively on an artificial diet, as well as switching diets from artificial to thistle (a commonly reported host plant) and switching from thistle to artificial diet. We found that all commercially-sourced caterpillars exhibited both high larval mortality and low pupation rates when reared on host plants, although larvae reared on Malacothamnus fasciculatus and Sphaeralcea ambigua survived longest. Moreover, M. fasciculatus and S. ambigua were the only host plants tested that supported successful pupation. This contrasted with a 63% higher survival of wild-collected larvae. Our findings suggest that commercially obtained V. cardui may struggle to utilize wild host plants and that future investigations into host plant suitability in wild populations are needed. Additionally, future research using commercial larvae should consider the implications for interpreting host plant suitability as larvae may exhibit adaptations to artificial diet or the loss of adaptation to consuming plant material.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2024View details →

A review of the status of web-based African Plant-Pollinator Interaction data

A protocol was developed to collect and mine data from various web-based sources such as journals, web pages, handbooks, manuals and any other source that is web accessible and has information sought. The intention was to collect as much as possible all data with plant-pollinator interaction from studies carried out in Kenya and other parts of Africa. To assure technical support and homogeinity of thoughts, the activity was carried out in a write-shop set up whereby a team of data miners were brought together for 5 days to collect the data. They were trained on the meaning of plant pollinator interactions, key words that should look for, data coverage area, specific sites that are useful and the reporting. Further, monitoring and review of the data collection was continously done, to ensure the right data was collected appropriately. Various search engines were used to collect the data. The data was then prepared in a Globi data base to enhance its use base on the FAIR data principles. The results show that little data exists in Africa on plant-pollinator interaction based on the FAIR data principles. It further shows that Africa need to adopt FAIR principles to enhance utilization of generated data by scientists and expand the benefits of such data in Africa.

Data on arthropod abundance in tropical forest restoration plots with high or low plant phylogenetic diversity

Consideration of plant phylogenetic diversity in ecological restoration carries substantial potential, as communities with a greater diversity of lineages with older evolutionary histories can increase the diversity of niches and thus are likely to recover larger species networks than communities clustered in specific clades with reduced variation in functional traits. In this study, we experimentally assessed how arthropod communities were affected by the phylogenetic diversity of a set of tropical tree species. We established 12 experimental restoration plots with either high or low plant phylogenetic diversity, while maintaining constant the number of plant species. After one and three years, arthropods with different feeding habits (herbivores, predators, pollinators, and detritivores) were collected and identified as morphospecies or operational taxonomic units using metabarcoding techniques. We provide insights on the influence of plant phylogenetic diversity on arthropod abundance and species diversity, particularly among predator, pollinator, and detritivore common and dominant species, which increased with plant phylogenetic diversity. The trend, however, was the opposite for the diversity of herbivore common and dominant species, which decreased as plant phylogenetic diversity increased. These findings highlight the importance of considering plant species richness when designing restoration strategies, but also their evolutionary histories, as the same number of plant species can produce different outcomes for higher trophic levels, as a function of their phylogenetic relationships.

Vertical structural complexity of plant communities represents the combined effects of resource acquisition and environmental stress on the Tibetan Plateau

Knowledge of vertical structural complexity (VSC) is important, because the resulting spatial partitioning is closely linked to resource utilization and environmental adaptation. However, the spatial pattern of VSC on large scales and its underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we systematically investigated 2,013 plant communities through grid sampling on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). VSC was quantified as the maximum plant height within a plot (Height-max), coefficient of variation of plant height (Height-var), and Shannon evenness of plant height (Height-even). Precipitation dominated the spatial variation in VSC in forests and shrublands, supporting the classic physiological tolerance hypothesis (PTH). In contrast, for alpine meadows, steppes, and desert grasslands in extreme environments, non-resource limiting factors (e.g., wide diurnal temperature ranges and strong winds) dominate VSC variation. Generally, with the shifting of climate from favorable to extreme, the effect of resource availability gradually decreases, but the effect of non-resource limiting factors gradually increases, and that the PTH only applicable in "favorable conditions". With the help of machine learning models, maps of VSC at 1-km resolution were produced for the TP for the first time. Our new findings and maps of VSC provide new insights into macroecological studies, especially for adaptation mechanisms and model optimization.

Data for: Increasing planting density increases fruit mass and reduces the dispersal ability of a range-expanding invasive plant, Mikania micrantha

Aim: Invasive plants may evolve a suite of distinctive traits during spread in the new range. Among these traits, dispersal ability is an important trait determining the invasion speed of exotic plants. There is evidence that higher dispersal ability is favored at the invasion front, where population density may be low. However, no study has explicitly tested how planting density in a common garden affects the dispersal ability of invasive plants. Location: Hainan island of China. Methods: In this study, using 27 populations of an invasive plant, Mikania micrantha, which is expanding its range on Hainan island of China, we examine how three dispersal-related traits (i.e., dispersal ability, fruit mass, and pappus radius) change with distance from invasion centre and field population density, and how planting density in a common garden affects dispersal traits. Results: Dispersal traits did not change with distance from the invasion centre and field population cover either in the natural environment or in the common garden. In the common garden, increasing planting density from one to five plants per pot increased fruit mass and decreased dispersal ability, indicating that the effect of density on dispersal traits could not be detected in the field. The relationship between dispersal ability in the natural environment and that in the common garden was positive but significant only under the five plants per pot treatment, possibly because dispersal traits in natural conditions were selected under high density growth conditions. Main conclusions: Our results indicate that increasing population density may increase fruit mass and reduce the dispersal ability of range-expanding invasive plants. We suggest that further studies exploring the patterns of dispersal traits in range-expanding invasive plants in a common garden should consider intraspecific competition.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Fifteen physiological traits related to osmoregulation and reactive oxygen species metabolism in two life form aquatic plants under a natural water salinity gradient on the Tibetan Plateau and Northwest China

Aquatic plants, as the primary producers, determine the community structure and ecological function of freshwater ecosystems. However, salinization threatens inland freshwater wetlands and thus the survival of aquatic plants. Exploring the plant physiological responses to increasing water salinity could enhance our understandings of plant adaptive strategies under future climate change regimes in wetlands. We measured 15 physiological traits of 49 aquatic plant species along a large environmental gradient in alpine and arid regions of western China, to explore the physiological adaptions and compare the similarities and differences in adaptive strategies between the two life forms to natural water salinity. We found that both water salinity and low temperature were key factors affecting aquatic plants in alpine and arid regions. Aquatic plants adapt to saline habitats by accumulating proline and sulfur (S) concentrations, and to cold habitats by increasing ascorbate peroxidase activity. Plant trait network analysis showed that the hub trait in emergent plants was S, but in submerged plants was proline, suggesting that emergent plants balanced osmoregulation and reactive oxygen metabolism via S-containing compounds, while submerged plants prioritizing the regulation of osmotic balance via proline.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Spectral library of plant species from Montesinho Natural Park in Portugal

The database contains the average spectra for leaves of each species, collected in different grids. Additionally, there is at least one photographic record for each species and the calculation of different Vegetation Indices (VIs), namely: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Simple Ratio (SR), Renormalized Difference Vegetation Index (RDVI), Greenness Index (GI), and Structure Insensitive Pigment Index (SIPI). A detailed description regarding the database, its content, and the measurement instrument can be found in the database report and in a data paper (In Prep). It showcases some of the most representative and relevant vascular plant species within a conservation area in Portugal - the Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), namely: Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn, Castanea sativa Mill., Cistus ladanifer L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Frangula alnus Mill., Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl, Quercus pyrenaica Willd., Quercus rotundifolia Lam., Trifolium repens L., Arbutus unedo L. Dactylis glomerata L., Genista falcata Brot., Cytisus multiflorus (L*Hér.) Sweet, Erica arborea L., and Acacia dealbata Link. Samples were collected in situ on June 21st and 22nd, 2023.

opencc-by-4.0May 2023View details →

Data and Analyses for Host plant-mediation of viral transmission and its consequences for a native butterfly

This contains R code for all analyses and creation of figures included in the publication entitled "Host plant-mediation of viral transmission and its Q1 consequences for a native butterfly". This article has now been accepted for publication under DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4282. The files containing the data analysis script have been updated to reflect the final analyses included in this paper.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Spatial patterns and effects of invasive plants on soil microbial activity and diversity along river corridors - raw data

Dataset for the study Spatial patterns and effects of invasive plants on soil microbial activity and diversity along river corridors <ol> <li>environmental variables of the research plots</li> <li>vascular plant species composition of the research plots</li> <li>mcirobial activity on the research plots</li> <li>CLPP profiles of the research plots</li> </ol>

Figures 5-7 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 5-7. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, male: (5) Wing; (6) 6th-8th abdominal segments (lateral view); (7) Terminalia, dorsal view.

Figures 12-14 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 12-14. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, female: (12) 6th-8th abdominal segments (dorsal view); (13) 6th-8th abdominal segments (ventral view); (14) Cerci (ventral view).

Figures 19-24 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 19-24. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, pupa: (19) Prothoracic spiracle; (20-22) Apex of prothoracic spiracle; (23) 2nd-4th abdominal segments (dorsal view); (24) terminal segment (dorsal).

Figures 25-26 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 25-26. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, larva: (25) Prothoracic spatula and associated papillae (ventral view); (26) Terminal segment (dorsal view).

Figures 15-18 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 15-18. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, pupa: (15) Head (frontal view); (16-18) Antennal horns.

Figures 1-4 in A new species of gall midge (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Pleroma raddianum (DC.) Gardner (Myrtales: Melastomatacea), an endenic plant to Brazil

Figures 1-4. Lopesia pleromatis, sp. nov. Maia, male: (1) Head (ventral view); (2) 5th flagellomere; (3) Last flagellomere; (4) Hindleg, tarsal claw and empodium (lateral view).