ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2020
Pollen grain size associated with pollinator feeding strategy.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- DNA metabarcoding reveals key floral resources for native pollinators in post-fire landscapes.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026Article
- Insights into the functional and genetic basis of heteranthery in Arthrostemma ciliatum Pav. ex D.Don (Melastomataceae).BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Influence of long-term nutrient deficiency on pollen and anther morphological traits in rye.Journal of experimental botany · 2026Article
- A Tandem Metabarcoding and Taxonomic Forensics Approach to Surveillance of Mosquito-Plant Interactions forInsects · 2025Article
- A comprehensive analysis of the impact of genomic imbalance on gene expression in a poplar aneuploidy population.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Significance of Morpho-Palynological Diversity in Melliferous Plants in the Anzer Region (Türkiye) with Regard to Honey Authentication.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Tiny but significant: on the importance of thrips as pollinators.Annals of botany · 2025Review
- Harnessing Electrostatic Forces: A Review of Bees as Bioindicators for Particulate Matter Detection.Insects · 2025Review
- Weed Role for Pollinator in the Agroecosystem: Plant-Insect Interactions and Agronomic Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Honeybee comb-inspired stiffness gradient-amplified catapult for solid particle repellency.Nature nanotechnology · 2024Article
- Pollen morphology for successful pollination dependent on pollinator taxa in a generalist plant: relationship with foraging behavior.Oecologia · 2023Article
- Dispersal capacities of pollen, seeds and spores: insights from comparative analyses of spatial genetic structures in bryophytes and spermatophytes.Frontiers in plant science · 2023Article
- Consequences of whole genome duplication for 2n pollen performance.Plant reproduction · 2021Review
- Do flowers removed of either nectar or pollen attract fewer bumblebee pollinators? An experimental test inAoB PLANTS · 2021Article
- Bee-Mediated Selection Favors Floral Sex Specialization in a Heterantherous Species: Strategies to Solve the Pollen Dilemma.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Angiosperm pollen grain diameter varies greatly from a few microns to over 100, but the selective forces driving the interspecific variation in pollen size remain unclear. Although both pre- and post-pollination hypotheses have been proposed, empirical evidence remains scarce. Here we propose that visits by pollen-foraging pollinators have selected against large pollen grains. An association between pollinator behaviour and pollen grain size was confirmed by field studies of 80 flowering species in natural communities, showing that pollinators positively collected pollen in those species with relatively smaller pollen grains but rarely did so in species with larger ones. Allowing for the confounding effects of pollinator type, flower size or style length and pollen grain number, we found a significant effect of pollen-foraging behaviour on variation in pollen grain size, particularly in bee-pollinated plants. While these results suggest that many plant species whose pollen is collected or consumed by pollinators produce small pollen grains, it remains unclear whether pollen grain size is directly affected by pollinator foraging habit or indirectly mediated by pollen number trade-offs.
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Registered trials
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