Evolution of Plant-Pollinator Relationships

What are the evolutionary mechanisms and ecological implications behind a pollinator choosing its favourite flower? Sixty-five million years of evolution has created the complex and integrated system which we see today and understanding the interactions involved is key to environmental sustainability. Examining pollination relationships from an evolutionary perspective, this book covers both botanical and zoological aspects. It addresses the puzzling question of co-speciation and co-evolution and the complexity of the relationships between plant and pollinator, the development of which is examined through the fossil record. Additional chapters are dedicated to the evolution of floral displays and signalling, as well as their role in pollination syndromes and the building of pollination networks. Wide-ranging in its coverage, it outlines current knowledge and complex emerging topics, demonstrating how advances in research methods are applied to pollination biology.Preface; 1. Macroevolution for plant reproductive biologists Paul Wilson; 2. Pollination crisis, plant sex systems and predicting evolutionary trends in attractiveness Tom J. de Jong; 3. Evolution and ecological implications of 'specialized' pollinator rewards W. Scott Armbruster; 4. Fig-fig wasp mutualism, the fall of the strict co-speciation paradigm? Astrid Cruaud, James Cook, Yang Da-Rong, Gwenaelle Genson, Roula Jabbour-Zahab, Finn Kjellberg, Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo Pereira, Nina Ronsted, Otilene Santos-Mattos, Vincent Savolainen, Rosichon Ubaidillah, Simon van Noort, Peng Yan-Qiong and Jean-Yves Rasplus; 5. Fossil bees and their plant associates Denis Michez, Maryse Vanderplanck and Michael S. Engel; 6. Pollen evidence for the pollination biology of early flowering plants Shusheng Hu, David L. Dilcher and David Winship Taylor; 7. Pollinator mediated floral divergence in the absence of pollinator shifts Allan G. Ellis and Bruce Anderson; 8. Animal pollination and speciation in plants: general mechanisms and examples from the orchids Florian P. Schiestl; 9. Why are floral signals complex? An outline of functional hypotheses Anne S. Leonard, Anna Dornhaus and Daniel R. Papaj; 10. A survey on pollination modes in cacti and a potential key innovation Boris O. Schlumpberger; 11. Zygomorphy, area and the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in angiosperms Jana C. Vamosi and Steven M. Vamosi; 12. Ambophily and 'super generalism' in Ceratonia siliqua (Fabaceae) pollination Amots Dafni, Talya Marom-Levy, Andreas Jurgens, Stefan Dotterl, Yuval Shimrat, Achik Dorchin, H. Elizabeth Kirkpatrick and Taina Witt; 13. Structure and dynamics of pollination networks: the past, the present and the future Jens M. Olesen, Yoko L. Dupont, Melanie Hagen, Claus Rasmussen and Kristian Trojelsgaard; 14. Pollinators as drivers of plant distribution and assemblage into communities Loic Pellissier, Nadir Alvarez and Antoine Guisan; 15. Effects of alien species on plant-pollinator interactions: how can native plants adapt to changing pollination regimes? Gideon Pisanty and Yael Mandelik; 16. Pollen resources of non-Apis bees in southern Africa Michael Kuhlmann and Connal D. Eardley; 17. Advances in the study of the evolution of plant-pollinator relationships Sebastien Patiny; Index.