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Nectar dispersion patterns in three Australian plant species
Author(s) -
ZIMMERMAN MICHAEL,
NAGY ERIC S.,
GALLOWAY LAURA
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1987.tb00939.x
Subject(s) - nectar , pollinator , biology , range (aeronautics) , botany , ecology , pollination , pollen , materials science , composite material
Abstract Standing crops of floral nectar were measured from three species of plants : Dampiera stricta, Goodenia bellidifolia and Aotus ericoides. The amount of nectar in nearest neighbour blossoms in nine of the 10 samples were significantly correlated with one another suggesting that patches of high and low reward quality exist in these species. The patterns further suggest that the pollinators of these species employ arearestricted searching behaviour. The range of variability in standing crops for all three species was quite high. The nature of that variability suggests that A. ericoides is less variable in its rate of nectar production than are the other two species and, therefore, that it has the potential to be more tightly co‐evolved with its pollinators.