Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration

There is increasing evidence that nectarivorous yeasts are an important third player in plant–pollinator mutualisms, but their distribution and ecological effects remain poorly known. Here we provide a survey of the frequency and abundance of yeasts in floral nectar from 40 taxonomically diverse Sou...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Vega, Clara de, Herrera, Carlos M., Jonhson, S.D.
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/38627
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/38627
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Birds
Floral nectar concentration
Insects
Microbial commuties
Nectarivorous yeast
Plant–pollinator interactions
South Africa
id ES_c7a20c049da2edef8ffc1b80fe9c9cd9
oai_identifier_str oai:digital.csic.es:10261/38627
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentrationVega, Clara deHerrera, Carlos M.Jonhson, S.D.BirdsFloral nectar concentrationInsectsMicrobial commutiesNectarivorous yeastPlant–pollinator interactionsSouth AfricaThere is increasing evidence that nectarivorous yeasts are an important third player in plant–pollinator mutualisms, but their distribution and ecological effects remain poorly known. Here we provide a survey of the frequency and abundance of yeasts in floral nectar from 40 taxonomically diverse South African plant species, test whether they affect nectar properties, and investigate associations between yeast incidence and pollinator type. Microscopical observations of nectar samples revealed that yeasts are widespread in floral nectar of South African species, as revealed by the high percentage of plants (51.3%) and flowers (43.2%) containing those microbes, and that when present, they can reach high densities (up to 3.6 × 106 yeast cells/mm3 in Moraea graminicola). Further, a significant negative correlation was found between yeast density and sugar content (Rs = − 0.463, P = 0.039) and yeast density and nectar concentration (Rs = − 0.470, P = 0.037) in a Watsonia species. Interestingly, variation in yeast incidence among plant species was related to differences in pollinator type, in such a way that the plant species pollinated by birds showed the highest proportion of plants and flowers with yeasts, while those visited only by Hymenoptera showed the lowest values. Our study confirms the ubiquity of nectarivorous yeasts in plant communities and identifies novel ways of approaching the study of nectar characteristics and exciting new perspectives on the role of yeasts in plant–pollinator relationshipsPeer reviewedElsevier201120112009info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501http://hdl.handle.net/10261/38627reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254629909002683info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/386272026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
title Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
spellingShingle Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
Vega, Clara de
Birds
Floral nectar concentration
Insects
Microbial commuties
Nectarivorous yeast
Plant–pollinator interactions
South Africa
title_short Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
title_full Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
title_fullStr Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
title_full_unstemmed Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
title_sort Yeasts in floral nectar of some South African plants: Quantification and associations with pollinator type and sugar concentration
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Vega, Clara de
Herrera, Carlos M.
Jonhson, S.D.
author Vega, Clara de
author_facet Vega, Clara de
Herrera, Carlos M.
Jonhson, S.D.
author_role author
author2 Herrera, Carlos M.
Jonhson, S.D.
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Birds
Floral nectar concentration
Insects
Microbial commuties
Nectarivorous yeast
Plant–pollinator interactions
South Africa
topic Birds
Floral nectar concentration
Insects
Microbial commuties
Nectarivorous yeast
Plant–pollinator interactions
South Africa
description There is increasing evidence that nectarivorous yeasts are an important third player in plant–pollinator mutualisms, but their distribution and ecological effects remain poorly known. Here we provide a survey of the frequency and abundance of yeasts in floral nectar from 40 taxonomically diverse South African plant species, test whether they affect nectar properties, and investigate associations between yeast incidence and pollinator type. Microscopical observations of nectar samples revealed that yeasts are widespread in floral nectar of South African species, as revealed by the high percentage of plants (51.3%) and flowers (43.2%) containing those microbes, and that when present, they can reach high densities (up to 3.6 × 106 yeast cells/mm3 in Moraea graminicola). Further, a significant negative correlation was found between yeast density and sugar content (Rs = − 0.463, P = 0.039) and yeast density and nectar concentration (Rs = − 0.470, P = 0.037) in a Watsonia species. Interestingly, variation in yeast incidence among plant species was related to differences in pollinator type, in such a way that the plant species pollinated by birds showed the highest proportion of plants and flowers with yeasts, while those visited only by Hymenoptera showed the lowest values. Our study confirms the ubiquity of nectarivorous yeasts in plant communities and identifies novel ways of approaching the study of nectar characteristics and exciting new perspectives on the role of yeasts in plant–pollinator relationships
publishDate 2009
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2009
2011
2011
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/38627
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/38627
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254629909002683
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869419195510292480
score 15,81155

Registos relacionados