Botanik-Seminar: Buzz-pollination and pollinator shifts: exploring patterns and processes of flower diversification in the plant family Melastomataceae

07.12.2022: Dr. Agnes Dellinger. Universität Wien, Austria.

Start: 16.15 Uhr | 4.15 p.m.

Pollination by animals is regarded as a major driver of angiosperm evolution and the diversification of flowers. While the impact of pollinators in shaping floral diversity has been demonstrated extensively at macroevolutionary scales, we know much less about how biotic and abiotic environmental contexts influence plant-pollinator interactions and translate into macroevolutionary patterns. To address this gap in my talk, I will start out by outlining major patterns of flower diversity and flower trait functioning in the tropical plant family Melastomataceae. Melastomataceae have largely radiated in a functionally highly specialized pollination system, buzz pollination by bees, where pollen is only released from flowers when specific vibrations are applied. Approximately 96% of species employ this pollination strategy, and show an astounding diversity of floral phenotypes. Across the globe and across the Melastomataceae phylogeny, ca. 4% of species have shifted from bee pollination to different vertebrate pollination strategies, or generalized pollination. I will discuss the floral functional trait changes necessary for such shifts, and explore patterns of floral trait diversity (disparity) across Melastomataceae clades. Finally, pollinator shifts in Melastomataceae show a strong link to occurrence in high elevation ecosystems where bee pollinators are scarce. In the last part of my talk, I will present empirical experimental data from the plant tribe Merianieae to demonstrate that adverse climatic conditions in tropical mountains acted as major driver of shifts from bee to vertebrate pollination.

Host: Dr. Marie Claire Veranso-Libalah

Ein gemeinsames Seminar des Lehrstuhls für Systematik, Biodiversität & Evolution der Pflanzen der LMU München, der Botanischen Staatssammlung München und des Botanischen Gartens München-Nymphenburg.

A joint seminar of the section Systematics, Biodiversity & Evolution of Plants, the Botanische Staatssammlung München and the Botanical Garden München-Nymphenburg.