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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Meaningful Words in Crowd Noise: Searching for Volatiles Relevant to Carpenter Bees among the Diverse Scent Blends of Bee Flowers

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Author(s):
Rabeschini, Gabriela [1] ; Joaquim Bergamo, Pedro [2, 1] ; Nunes, Carlos E. P. [3, 4]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Inst Pesquisas Jardim Bot Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil
[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Programa Posgrad Biol Vegetal, Campinas, SP - Brazil
[4] Univ Stirling, Dept Biol & Environm Sci, Stirling - Scotland
Total Affiliations: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of Chemical Ecology; v. 47, n. 4-5 MAR 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

Olfactory cues constitute one of the most important plant-pollinator communication channels. Specific chemical components can be associated with specific pollinator functional groups due to pollinator-mediated selection on flower volatile (FV) emission. Here, we used multivariate analyses of FV data to detect an association between FVs and the worldwide distributed pollinator group of the carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.). We compiled FVs of 29 plant species: 9 pollinated by carpenter bees, 20 pollinated by other bee pollinator functional groups. We tested whether FV emission differed between these groups. To rule out any phylogenetic bias in our dataset, we tested FV emission for phylogenetic signal. Finally, using field assays, we tested the attractive function of two FVs found to be associated with carpenter bees. We found no significant multivariate difference between the two plant groups FVs. However, seven FVs (five apocarotenoid terpenoids, one long-chain alkane and one benzenoid) were significantly associated with carpenter bee pollination, thus being ``predictor{''} compounds of pollination by this pollinator functional group. From those, beta-ionone and (E)-methyl cinnamate presented the highest indicator values and had their behavioural function assessed in field assays. Phylogenetic signal for FVs emission was weak, suggesting that their emission could result from pollinator-mediated selection. In field assays, the apocarotenoid beta-ionone attracted carpenter bees, but also bees from other functional groups. The benzenoid (E)-methyl cinnamate did not attract significant numbers of pollinators. Thus, beta-ionone functions as a non-specific bee attractant, while apocarotenoid FVs emerge as consistent indicators of pollination by large food-foraging bees among bee-pollinated flowers. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 17/22642-5 - Chemical communication as determinant of plant-Euglossine bee network structure: from the auto- to the macro-ecology
Grantee:Carlos Eduardo Pereira Nunes
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate