Abstract
Summary Plant species sometimes exhibit dynamic contrasting patterns in terms of reproductive traits. Floral colour change – the retention of old, non‐productive, rewardless, but fully turgid flowers in an altered colour – has been considered as a plant strategy for enhancing pollinator attraction while minimizing visits to non‐reproductive flowers. Considering the perceptive and cognitive abilities of animals, these advantages should apply in most systems. It seems paradoxical, and therefore, that floral colour change occurs in only a portion of angiosperms. This divergence may be explained if floral colour change adds as yet unknown costs or benefits under specific conditions. To explore such possibilities, we compared details of trait combinations and pollination consequences between a floral colour‐changing ( W eigela coraeensis ) and a non‐colour‐changing ( W eigela hortensis ) species in a shared environment. Flowers of W . coraeensis secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days and remained white, after which they persisted for a few more days with discoloured, red purple petals and reduced nectar levels. Flowers of W . hortensis also secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days. They persisted for a few more days with the same colour and reduced amounts of nectar, but did so only when pollinators were scarce. Because only W . hortensis suffered from pollination difficulty at our site, both species retained their flowers for 4–5 days. Bees strongly preferred to visit W . coraeensis , leading to a greater proportion of seed set than in W . hortensis . In addition to their higher nectar productivity, only W . coraeensis plants offered bees colour difference as a visual cue to choose rewarding flowers and improve both long‐term and short‐term rates of nectar intake. By learning where to return, bees apparently responded to the difference in resource exploitability. Results indicate that floral colour change yields an additional benefit of attracting bee‐like pollinators that return preferentially to more easily exploitable plants. Under conditions where benefits of enhancing both conspicuousness and exploitability cannot outweigh the costs of doing so, however, retention of rewardless flowers in the same colour and flexibility in floral longevity – as was adopted in W . hortensis – may become more advantageous in terms of saving metabolic and ecological costs.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
W. coraeensis flowers secreted nectar for 2–3 days while white, then persisted red purple with reduced nectar.
Verbatim
e0“Flowers of W . coraeensis secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days and remained white, after which they persisted for a few more days with discoloured, red purple petals and reduced nectar levels”
Claim · model-written summary
W. hortensis flowers secreted nectar initially for 2–3 days.
Verbatim
e0“Flowers of W . hortensis also secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days”
Claim · model-written summary
W. hortensis flowers persisted with unchanged color and reduced nectar only when pollinators were scarce.
Verbatim
e0“They persisted for a few more days with the same colour and reduced amounts of nectar, but did so only when pollinators were scarce”
e1“Flowers of W . hortensis”
Claim · model-written summary
Only W. hortensis suffered pollination difficulty at the study site.
Verbatim
e0“only W . hortensis suffered from pollination difficulty at our site”
Claim · model-written summary
Both Weigela species retained flowers for 4–5 days.
Verbatim
e0“both species retained their flowers for 4–5 days”
e1“between a floral colour‐changing ( W eigela coraeensis ) and a non‐colour‐changing ( W eigela hortensis ) species”
Claim · model-written summary
Bees strongly preferred to visit W. coraeensis.
- Taxon
- W . coraeensise0
- Interactor
- BeesAnthophilae0pollinator
- Outcome
- Bees strongly preferred to visite0
Verbatim
e0“Bees strongly preferred to visit W . coraeensis”
Claim · model-written summary
W. coraeensis had a greater proportion of seed set than W. hortensis.
Verbatim
e0“leading to a greater proportion of seed set than in W . hortensis”
e1“Bees strongly preferred to visit W . coraeensis”
Claim · model-written summary
W. coraeensis had higher nectar productivity than W. hortensis.
Verbatim
e0“their higher nectar productivity, only W . coraeensis plants offered bees colour difference”
e1“than in W . hortensis”
Claim · model-written summary
W. coraeensis alone offered bees a color cue to choose rewarding flowers and improve nectar intake rates.
- Taxon
- W . coraeensise0
- Interactor
- beesAnthophilae0pollinator
- Outcome
- long‐term and short‐term rates of nectar intakee0
- Qualifier
- colour difference as a visual cuee0
Verbatim
e0“only W . coraeensis plants offered bees colour difference as a visual cue to choose rewarding flowers and improve both long‐term and short‐term rates of nectar intake”
Claim · model-written summary
Bees apparently learned where to return in response to resource exploitability differences.
- Taxon
- W . coraeensise1
- Interactor
- beesAnthophilae0pollinator
- Outcome
- bees apparently responded to the difference in resource exploitabilitye0
- Qualifier
- By learning where to returne0
Verbatim
e0“By learning where to return, bees apparently responded to the difference in resource exploitability”
e1“W . coraeensis plants”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that floral color change attracts bee-like pollinators that return to more easily exploitable plants.
Verbatim
e0“floral colour change yields an additional benefit of attracting bee‐like pollinators that return preferentially to more easily exploitable plants”
e1“W . coraeensis plants”
Claim · model-written summary
When conspicuousness and exploitability benefits do not outweigh costs, W. hortensis-style retention of same-color rewardless flowers with flexible longevity may save costs.
Verbatim
e0“retention of rewardless flowers in the same colour and flexibility in floral longevity – as was adopted in W . hortensis – may become more advantageous in terms of saving metabolic and ecological costs”
e1“Under conditions where benefits of enhancing both conspicuousness and exploitability cannot outweigh the costs of doing so”