The pollen is constituted by a multitude of microscopic granules contained in the pollen sacs of the anthers of flowers and has the appearance of a powder, coloured differently depending on the flower. These granules are the male reproductive cells of the plant. This powder is easily carried by the wind and can reach the female organs of the flowers, the pistils. The other way of pollination than that of pollen dispersal is the fertilization of flowers, when it is given by bees and other pollinators. In exchange for the nectar that attracts them to the flowers, the bees carry pollen from plant to plant (Heslop-Harrison, 1971). The cell of pollen or pollen grain is the cell fertilizing the plant. The intine that surrounds the cell has a structure composed of cellulose fibres that provides mechanical protection against crushing, and its outer surface has proper forms for each species and variety. This variety of forms that can identify the botanical origin of the pollen, as well as the floral origin of the honey, which still retain traces of where the pollen came from (Shukla, Vijayaraghavan, & Chaudhry, 1998).
Pollination, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services
Every species on earth can survive only due to genetic mixing. Plants that can fertilize another at a great distance form a much greater genetic mix, than those that fertilize only around them. Upon the occurrence of changes in the environment or the emergence of new pests or diseases, a varied population will be less sensitive than an inbred population and homogeneous. Each plant uses in its exine a different biochemical system of protection (Frankel, Brown, & Burdon, 1995). A grain of pollen must travel several kilometres on the bee's body at a speed of 50-60 km/hour. De...
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...n and the ecosystem (Engelmann & Engels, 2002).
On a broader scale, the importance of the conservation of pollinators was highlighted in the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was given international importance. In Europe, the EU is also supporting the conservation of pollinators through the legal framework. This includes greater importance of ecological farming and the banning of certain pesticides that are proven to be lethal to bees (Isaacs & Tuell, 2007).
In conclusion, pollinators are of great importance as they provide ecosystem services that allow us to make use of and exploit economically. However, the number of pollinators has been declining, with several negative effects. There are multiple strategies to conserve the pollinators and pollen, which may be seen as a way for the rehabilitation of certain species (Guerrant, Havens, & Maunder, 2004).
A population of Plantago lanceolata (ribwort plantain) on the path was found to have higher trampling tolerance than populations away from the path; this reflected the sharp differences in the conditions of the plant at these sites. Ribwort Plant had generally a higher tolerance to trampling than any other plants as more were found on the path, but there were less compared with other plants as distance increased from the path. These results suggest that the competition level found on the path was sufficient enough to impose a selection pressure for the evolution of tolerance in a sensitive species, but in some areas the distribution of Ribwort Plantain were the same. This provides that other conditions affect the tolerance of trampling for Ribwort Plantain.
(2014) experimentally measured the changes in the honey bee colony performance and fitness due to chronic sub lethal neonicotinoids, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, exposure through diet. The study consisted of 24 honey bee colonies with two different sister-queens from different breeding populations, one from Germany (A. m. carnica) and another from Switzerland (A. m. mellifera). The bees were fed pollen with concentration of 5.0 ppb thiamethoxam and 2.0 ppb clothianidin (Sandrock et al., 2014). The results of the study were such that: there was a decline in the total population of adult bees by 28%, brood by 13%, decline in total production of honey by 29% and total amount of pollen collected by 19%, over two brood cycles of 1.5 months The honey bee colonies were able to recover and successfully survive in the winter of 3.5 months. However, over the one year period, the colony growth declined significantly due to increased queen supersedure and decreased swarming during the next spring (Sandrock et al., 2014). Overall, A. m. mellifera were more vulnerable to the exposure than A. m. carnica. These different results were most likely due to different honey bee ecotypes and differences in their genetics (Sandrock et al., 2014). Therefore, the study suggests that neonicotinoids have negative effects on the honey bee colony performance due to sub lethal
Lack, Andrew, Proctor, Michael, Yeo, Peter. The Natural History of Pollination. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1996.
Think for a moment of a world without bees; a world without our buzzing friend. They might look like they barely do much to help our ecosystem. However, bees are a vital part of our agriculture and this makes it vital that we keep them around. The bee population decline in recent years is troubling for both us and our little friends. As their friends, we must do all we can in order to ensure their survival which in turn will ensure our own.
When it comes to genetic diversity and migration, migration is known as the movement of genetic diversity within a species. Migration of genes not only happens in animals but also in plants through pollen dispersal, vegetative propagules like rhizomes and suckers among others. Migration or in other term gene flow, is said to take place both with the proceeding front of a population when it is colonizing new areas. This happens when genes of two or more populations mix through pollen and seed dispersal. In this case, migration rate is mainly related to the frequency of reproduction and the distance over which seeds and pollen usually disperse.
In Europe and even in China honeybee populations are decreasing. This has an impact on everyone in the market. It effects how they food gets to the dinner table and how much it cost to put it there. Fresh produces will eventually end up being fresh produce from across the ocean or fresh produce made in a lab. It wasn’t until October 2006 when Hackenburg came public about his bees vanishing that anybody noticed that the bees were dispersing, but still scientist can’t prove the exact cause to CCD. In America nothing has really been done yet to help the honeybees. Other countries, like Europe did at least tried to maintain the current population of honeybees by amending a law that prohibited certain types of pesticides that many be harmful to honeybees. The most important thing that could be done to protect the honeybees is stop using pesticides that are harmful to important creatures like honeybees. Just like Europe did, put a ban on harmful chemicals to honeybees, until the honeybees numbers start to increase. Another logical way to help the honeybee population is to give a tax credit to people who decide to become bee keepers since bees are very important to the US economic
Our livestock depend on bee-pollinated plants like grain. Poorly pollinated plants produce fewer fruits and seeds, leading to higher prices (New Agriculturist, n.d.). Some crops are entirely dependent on pollinators such as almonds and others are 90 percent dependent on blueberries and cherries (ABF, 2015). Bees give us honey and we use this honey in food, shampoo, and moisturizers (Mercola, 2015). Bees pollinate 70 out of our 100 major crops; that includes apples, cucumbers, pumpkins, and many more.
Others include birds, butterflies, and the wind; however, honey bees, by far, are the best at pollinating plants. Collecting pollen is their whole life’s purpose, according to Michigan State University’s article, “Native Plants and Ecosystem Services”. Over one hundred forty three million acres of plants in America are sprayed with a bee-killing insecticide that has been banned in Europe by the European Food Safety Authority (Sarich). Promote ecological farming, and ban all bee-harming pesticides.
Once collected the pollen is extracted from the soil, usually in the laboratory to avoid contamination, and analysed using a light, or scanning electron microscope (SEM). The wide differentiation in the size, shape and colour of the pollen grains enables identification to be made down to genera level. Following identification, the individual exines in a sub-set of the sample are quantified and plotted on a pollen analysis diagram, usually as a percentage of the whole.
The Apis Mellifera, or honey bee, have survived on this planet for fifty million years. This species of bee is responsible for pollinating flowers, grass, trees and crops around the world. Much of the food we eat is dependent on honey bees for pollination. Our ecosystem depends on the survival of the honey bee. Colonies of honeybees have been disappearing at an alarming rate around the world due to parasites, viral and bacterial diseases, and the introduction of pesticides and herbicides. Over the past six years, on average, 30 percent of all the honey bee colonies in the U.S. died off over the winter of 2012(NPR/TED). If this trend continues to spiral downward, honey bees will disappear from the world. We must understand the importance of the Honey bee and change our environmental practices in order to sustain this vital insect.
Pollinators are very important to the environment because many plant species rely on reproduction to be carried out by pollination1. Bees are dependent on plants for pollen and nectar and in return, are the most common pollinator of plant species and around 90 percent of plants require pollination by an animal7. Bees are used in farming, both for pollinating crops and for producing honey, and the estimated value of bees to the United Kingdom is £400 million per year9. Plants are the primary producers in many food webs and, as so many are dependent on pollination in order to reproduce, a decline in pollinators would have a detrimental effect on whole ecosystems. Therefore, the declining numbers of pollinators, particularly bees, are a cause of concern because of the environmental knock-on effects.
Nature practices diversity and for good reason. In nature and organic farming, if there is a threat to one species, there are others to balance the decrease in the threatened species. Conventional farmers and the modern food industry argue that planting the same crop year after year is convenient and profitable because it cuts down on the different types of farm equipment necessary in production, and initially, on the types of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers needed. However, in this unnatural environment, tremendous amounts of pesticides and fertilizers are needed to support crops as increased resistance occurs year after year (Pollan 72).... ...
Insect pollination as we all know, is the process that enables reproduction and fertilization by the transfer of pollen performed by insects. Insects are some of the oldest pollinators of plants. Pollinating insects date back to 140 million years ago. Since then, due to how effective insect pollinators are, these flowering plants have become the major group of terrestrial vascular plants. Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, have imperative roles within our ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. For instance, insects provide food, fiber and shelter for wildlife and humankind alike (2007). It is commonly know that in humans, high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption are associated with decreased risk of chronic disease (Calderone 2012). Aside from these important roles, plants have also been considered as a viable option for fuel sources (Calderone 2012). There are around 300,00 species of flowering plants in the world and without pollination, the reproductive process would be very difficult since pollination causes the production of seeds (Calderone 2012). Of the 300,000 plant species worldwide, a little over 3,000 of these plants have been used as a source of food. Close to 300 of these species are grown around the world today and only 12 of these plants make up about 90 percent of the food sources in our world. These 12 include the grains...
Over the past decade bee populations have been dropping drastically. A 40% loss of honeybees happened in the U.S. and U.K. lose 45% of its commercial honeybee since 2010. This is a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in which worker bees from a beehive abruptly disappear in a short time. These data are definitely not meaningless since bees are a crucial part of the reproductive cycle of many foods. The impact bees have on the agriculture and the environment is far more crucial than we may think. Crops rely on bees to assist their reproduction and bring them life. Bees are renowned in facilitating pollination for most plant life, including over 100 different vegetable and fruit crops. Without bees, there would be a huge decrease in pollination, which later result in reduce in plant growth and food supplies. On the other hand, without the pollination progressed with the assistance from bees, the types of flowers According to Dr. Albert Einstein, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination…no more men”. That’s why bees’ extinction affects people more than we ever think, and could even forebode the doom day of human race.
Seed dispersal is the transport or movement of seeds away from the parent plant in order to help prevent the overcrowding (if this happens plants would not have enough food and light to survive in the area) and help to create new colonies. Thus giving the seed the best chance to germinate in a new location away from the parent plant and hopefully start new colonies. Due to the fact plants have limited mobility they rely on a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds via abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) vectors. There are five main methods of seed dispersal, animals, gravity, wind, ballistic and water (1). Fire is also another way for seeds to be dispersed but is not as common as the other methods.