2021/11/24 by Fitzsimmons, Rosie, Wiygul, Madeline, Yuerong Xiao
#Anna’s hummingbirds #California fuchsia #plant-pollination relationship #pollination syndrome #tree tobacco
paper · doi:10.21973/n3pm3v
The coevolution between plants and pollinators has driven great diversity and reproductive success in flowering plants. Within the hummingbird-flower dynamic, the foraging behavior of hummingbirds is affected by many variables, such as color cues and toxicity level in the nectar. This study used artificial flowers to mimic Nicotiana glauca (tree tobacco) and Epilobium canum (California fuchsia) in order to examine the effect of flower color and nectar type on the behavior of Calypte anna (anna’s hummingbird) in terms of their initial flower preference and time spent at each flower. Hummingbirds do not prefer color, and nectar toxicity had no effect on the length of time hummingbirds spent at the flower, but potential spatial preference is suggested. Our findings shed light on the complexities of plant-pollinator interactions and motivate future studies on the direction of plant-pollinator coevolution.