Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Plant Pollination and Dispersal

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Ecology and the Environment

  • 396 Accesses

Abstract

Pollination and seed dispersal are critical stages in the life of plants because they help shape the genetic architecture and evolution of the species involved. To facilitate those events, some species have evolved wings on their pollen or seed for wind dispersal others have pollen or seed that can float for water dispersal. However, the majority of plants have evolved a diverse array of signals that lure animals as transporters. The most common pollen dispersers are insects, while the most common seed dispersers are vertebrates. Because of this extensive dependence upon various animals, any factors that affect population numbers of pollinators or seed dispersers can have important influences on the long-term survival and success of the plants that depend upon them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler LS, Irwin RE. What you smell is more important than what you see? Natural selection on floral scent. New Phytol. 2012;195:510–1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ashley MV. Plant parentage, pollination, and dispersal: how DNA microsatellites have altered the landscape. Crit Rev Plant Sci. 2010;29:148–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett SCH. The evolution of plant sexual diversity. Nat Rev Genet. 2002;3:274–84.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann SL, Nabhan GP. The forgotten pollinators. Washington D.C.: Island Press; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cain ML, Milligan BG, Strand AE. Long-distance seed dispersal in plant populations. Am J Bot. 2000;87:1217–27.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheptou PO, Carrue O, Rouifed S, Cantarel A. Rapid evolution of seed dispersal in an urban environment in the weed Crepis sancta. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2008;105:3796–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cody ML, Overton JM. Short-term evolution of reduced dispersal in island plant populations. J Ecol. 1996;84:53–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corlett RT. Seed dispersal distances and plant migration potential in tropical East Asia. Biotropica. 2009;41:592–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • da Silva HR, de Britto-Pereira MC, Caramaschi U. Frugivory and seed dispersal by Hyla truncata, a neotropical treefrog. Copeia. 1989;781–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delye C, Jasieniuk M, Le Corre V. Deciphering the evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds. Trends Genet. 2013. In press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodd RJ, Linhart YB. Reproductive consequences of interactions between Yucca glauca (Agavaceae) and Tegeticula yuccasella (Lepidoptera) in Colorado. Am J Bot. 1994;81:815–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis AG, Johnson SD. Floral mimicry enhances pollen export: the evolution of pollination by sexual deceit outside of the Orchidaceae. Am Nat. 2010;176:E143–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellstrand NC. Over a decade of crop transgenes out-of-place. In: Regulation of agricultural biotechnology: the United States and Canada. The Netherlands: Springer; 2012. p. 123–35.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fenner M, Thomson K. The ecology of seeds. New York: Cambridge University press; 2005.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fenster CB, Armbruster WS, Wilson P, Dudash MR, Thomson JD. Pollination syndromes and floral specialization. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst. 2004;35:375–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galen C. Measuring pollinator-mediated selection on morphometric floral traits: bumblebees and the alpine sky pilot, Polemonium viscosum. Evolution. 1989;43:882–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galen C. Why do flowers vary? BioScience. 1999;49:631–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galetti M, Goulding M. Seed dispersal by fishes in tropical and temperate fresh waters: the growing evidence. Acta Oecol. 2011;37:561–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaskett AC. Orchid pollination by sexual deception: pollinator perspectives. Biol Rev. 2011;86:33–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez C, Espadaler X. An update of the world survey of myrmecochorous dispersal distances. Ecography. 2013;36:1193–1201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez JM, Perfectti F, Bosch J, Camacho JPM. A geographic selection mosaic in a generalized plant–pollinator–herbivore system. Ecol Monogr. 2009;79:245–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamrick JL, Trapnell DW. Using population genetic analyses to understand seed dispersal patterns. Acta Oecol. 2011;37:641–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu S, Dilcher DL, Jarzen DM, Winship D. Early steps of angiosperm–pollinator coevolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2008;105:240–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin RE, Strauss SY, Storz S, Emerson A, Guibert G. The role of herbivores in the maintenance of a flower color polymorphism in wild radish. Ecology. 2003;84:1733–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson RA, Willson M, Thomson JN, Bertin RI. Nutritional values of wild fruit and consumption by migrant frugivorous birds. Ecology. 1985;66:819–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordano P, Garcia C, Godoy JA, García-Castaño JL. Differential contribution of frugivores to complex seed dispersal patterns. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2007;104:3278–82.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karron JD, Ivey CT, Mitchell RJ, Whitehead MR, Peakall R, Case AL. Viewpoint: part of a special issue on plant mating systems. Ann Bot. 2012;109:493–503.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kathiresan K, Bingham BL. Biology of mangroves and mangrove ecosystems. Adv Mar Biol. 2001;40:81–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay KM, Sargent RD. The role of animal pollination in plant speciation: integrating ecology, geography, and genetics. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst. 2009;40:637–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns CA, Inouye DW. Techniques for pollination biologists. Niwot: University Press of Colorado; 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly D, Sork VL. Mast seeding in perennial plants: why, how, where? Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 2002;33:427–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler D, Diezel C, Clark DG, Colquhoun TA, Baldwin IT. Petunia flowers solve the defence/apparency dilemma of pollinator attraction by deploying complex floral blends. Ecol Lett. 2013;16:299–306.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levine JM, Murrell DJ. The community-level consequences of seed dispersal patterns. Annu Rev Eco Syst. 2003;34:549–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linhart YB. Ecological and behavioral determinants of pollen dispersal in hummingbird-pollinated Heliconia. Am Nat. 1973;107:511–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llandres AL, Gawryszewski FM, Heiling AM, Herberstein ME. The effect of colour variation in predators on the behaviour of pollinators: Australian crab spiders and native bees. Ecol Entomol. 2011;36:72–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olesen JM, Valedo A. Lizards as pollinators and seed dispersers: an island phenomenon. Trends Ecol Evol. 2003;18:177–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ollerton J, Winfree R, Tarrant S. How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals? Oikos. 2011;120:321–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel A, Hossaert-Mckey M, Mckey D. Ficus-pollinator research in India: past, present and future. Curr Sci. 1993;65:243–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patiny S. Evolution of plant-pollinator relationships. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2011.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pineyro-Nelson A, Van Heerwaarden J, Perales HR, Serratos-Hernandez JA, Rangel A, Hufford MB, Álvarez-Buylla ER. Transgenes in Mexican maize: molecular evidence and methodological considerations for GMO detection in landrace populations. Mol Ecol. 2009;18(4):750–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Platt SG, Elsey RM, Liu H, Rainwater TR, Nifong JC, Rosenblatt AE, Mazzotti FJ. Frugivory and seed dispersal by crocodilians: an overlooked form of saurochory? J Zool. 2013;291:87–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts SG, Jacobus C, Biesmeijer JC, Kremen C, Neumann P, Schweiger O, Kunin WE. Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. Trends Ecol Evol. 2010;25:345–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Primack RB. Ultraviolet patterns in flowers, or flowers viewed by insects. Arnoldia. 1982;42:146–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor M, Yeo P, Lack A. The natural history of pollination. London: Collins New Naturalist Library; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puerta-Piñero C, Muller-Landau HC, Calderón O, Wright SJ. Seed arrival in tropical forest tree fall gaps. Ecology. 2013;94:1552–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards AJ. Apomixis in flowering plants: an overview. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2003;358:1085–93.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sapir Y, Armbruster SC. Pollinator-mediated selection and floral evolution: from pollination ecology to macroevolution. New Phytol. 2010;188:303–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer HM, Ruxton GD. Plant-animal communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiestl FP. Animal pollination and speciation in plants: general mechanisms and examples from the orchids evolution of plant-pollinator relationships; 2011. books.google.com

  • Schulze B, Spiteller D. Capsaicin: tailored chemical defence against unwanted “frugivores”. ChemBioChem. 2009;10:428–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Şekercioğlu ÇH, Daily GC, Ehrlich PR. Ecosystem consequences of bird declines. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2004;101:18042–7.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheehan H, Hermann K, Kuhlemeier C. Color and scent: how single genes influence pollinator attraction. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 2013;77:117–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrestha M, Dyer AG, Boyd-Gerny S, Wong BBM, Burd M. Shades of red: bird-pollinated flowers target the specific colour discrimination abilities of avian vision. New Phytol. 2013;198:301–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simon R, Holderied MW, Corinna U, Koch CU, von Helversen O. Floral acoustics: conspicuous echoes of a dish-shaped leaf attract bat pollinators. Science. 2011;333:631–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snow AA. Illegal gene flow from transgenic creeping bentgrass: the saga continues. Mol Ecol. 2012;21:4663–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss SY, Irwin RE. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of multispecies plant-animal interactions. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst. 2004;35:435–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomback DF, Linhart YB. The evolution of bird-dispersed pines. Evol Ecol. 1990;4:185–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner ME, Stephens JC, Anderson WW. Homozygosity and patch structure in plant populations as a result of nearest-neighbor pollination. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1982;79:203–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vidal MM, Pires MM, Guimarães Jr PR. Large vertebrates as the missing components of seed-dispersal networks. Biol Conserv. 2013;163:42–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Helversen D, von Helversen O. Object recognition by echolocation: a nectar-feeding bat exploiting the flowers of a rain forest vine. J Comp Physiol A. 2003;189:327–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waser NM, Ollerton J, editors. Plant-pollinator interactions: from specialization to generalization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenny DG. Advantages of seed dispersal: a re-evaluation of directed dispersal. Evol Ecol Res. 2001;3:51–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenny DG, Devault TL, Johnson MD, Kelly D, Sekercioglu CH, Tomback DF, Whelan CJ. The need to quantify ecosystem services provided by birds. Auk. 2011;128:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney H, Chittka L, Bruce T, Glover BJ. Conical epidermal cells allow bees to grip flowers and increase foraging efficiency. Curr Biol. 2009;19:1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Yan Linhart

Authors
  1. Yan Linhart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Linhart .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    Russell K Monson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Linhart, Y. (2013). Plant Pollination and Dispersal. In: Monson, R. (eds) Ecology and the Environment. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7612-2_21-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7612-2_21-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7612-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation