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Article

Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception

by
Annemarie Heiduk
1,*,
Ulrich Meve
2,
Frank Menzel
3,
Jean-Paul Haenni
4,
Michael von Tschirnhaus
5,
Stefan Dötterl
6 and
Steven D. Johnson
1
1
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
2
Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
3
Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Straße 90, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
4
Entomology, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle Neuchâtel, Rue des Terreaux 14, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
5
Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
6
Department of Biosciences, Plant Ecology, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1564; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081564
Submission received: 19 June 2021 / Revised: 12 July 2021 / Accepted: 12 July 2021 / Published: 29 July 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Evolution of Floral Scent)
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Abstract

Elaborated kettle trap flowers to temporarily detain pollinators evolved independently in several angiosperm lineages. Intensive research on species of Aristolochia and Ceropegia recently illuminated how these specialized trap flowers attract particular pollinators through chemical deception. Morphologically similar trap flowers evolved in Riocreuxia; however, no data about floral rewards, pollinators, and chemical ecology were available for this plant group. Here we provide data on pollination ecology and floral chemistry of R. torulosa. Specifically, we determined flower visitors and pollinators, assessed pollen transfer efficiency, and analysed floral scent chemistry. R. torulosa flowers are myiophilous and predominantly pollinated by Nematocera. Pollinating Diptera included, in order of decreasing abundance, male and female Sciaridae, Ceratopogonidae, Scatopsidae, Chloropidae, and Phoridae. Approximately 16% of pollen removed from flowers was successfully exported to conspecific stigmas. The flowers emitted mainly ubiquitous terpenoids, most abundantly linalool, furanoid (Z)-linalool oxide, and (E)-β-ocimene—compounds typical of rewarding flowers and fruits. R. torulosa can be considered to use generalized food (and possibly also brood-site) deception to lure small nematocerous Diptera into their flowers. These results suggest that R. torulosa has a less specific pollination system than previously reported for other kettle trap flowers but is nevertheless specialized at the level of Diptera suborder Nematocera.
Keywords: Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae; electroantennography; Ceropegia; flower scent; fly pollination; gas chromatography/mass spectrometry; kettle trap flower; pollen transfer efficiency Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae; electroantennography; Ceropegia; flower scent; fly pollination; gas chromatography/mass spectrometry; kettle trap flower; pollen transfer efficiency
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MDPI and ACS Style

Heiduk, A.; Meve, U.; Menzel, F.; Haenni, J.-P.; Tschirnhaus, M.v.; Dötterl, S.; Johnson, S.D. Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception. Plants 2021, 10, 1564. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081564

AMA Style

Heiduk A, Meve U, Menzel F, Haenni J-P, Tschirnhaus Mv, Dötterl S, Johnson SD. Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception. Plants. 2021; 10(8):1564. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081564

Chicago/Turabian Style

Heiduk, Annemarie, Ulrich Meve, Frank Menzel, Jean-Paul Haenni, Michael von Tschirnhaus, Stefan Dötterl, and Steven D. Johnson. 2021. "Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception" Plants 10, no. 8: 1564. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081564

APA Style

Heiduk, A., Meve, U., Menzel, F., Haenni, J.-P., Tschirnhaus, M. v., Dötterl, S., & Johnson, S. D. (2021). Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception. Plants, 10(8), 1564. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081564

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