Biology of Plant Pollination

elective monographs

The course is an introduction to pollination biology of flowering plants. During the lectures the following topics will be discussed: The scope and history of pollination biology, Flowers, pollination and fertilization, Plant reproductive strategies, Evolutionary history of zoogamy and specialization of pollination systems, Various forms of zoogamy (pollination by insects, birds, mammals etc.), Pollination by deception, Water and wind as vectors of pollination, Economic implication of plant pollination.

The scope and history of pollination biology.

Why it is worth studying plant pollination biology? History of pollination studies: ancient observations, discovery of plant sex, beginning of systematic studies of pollination systems, Opera magna of 18th and 19th centuries (Muller, Sprengel, Darwin, Knuth). 20th century hypothesis of pollination syndromes. New techniques: antheclogy and phylogenetics, pollination network analyses.

Flowers, pollination and fertilization

What is a flower and what is it for? Flower structure: one model, many variants. Inflorescences: types and function. Why do animal visit flowers? Atractants and flower rewards. Pollination - act of mutualism or parasitism. The case of Yucca and Ficus. Costs and advantages of zoogamy.

Plant reproductive strategies.

Plant sex. Self- and crosspollination: pros and contras. Self-incompatibility (genetic and biochemical aspects). Pollination and what next? Pollen tubes' wars and female choice. Selective abortion of embryos. Dichogamy: evolution and consequences. Hetrostyly - a way of cross-pollination or optimalization of pollen transfer. Apimictic plants.

Evolutionary history of zoogamy and specialization of pollination systems.

Co-evolution of flowers and animals. Evolutionary trends in flower structure. Efficiency of pollination. Insect visit vs. pollination. Faithful pollinators. Advantages and disadvantages of specialization.

Various forms of zoogamy (pollination by insects, birds, mammals etc.).

Pollination by deception

Flower mimicry. Flower deception and lernig processes in bees. Sexual deception. Trap flowers and inflorecences.

Water and wind as vectors of pollination

Economic implication of plant pollination.

Crop pollination. How much is a bee worth? Do we face the "pollination crisis"? Alien plants and imported polllinators. Pollination networks and tehir conservation. Future directions of pollination studies.

Faegri K. & van der Pijl L. 1979. The Principles of Pollination Ecology, 2nd ed. Pergamon Press, Oxford.

Harder L.D. & Barrett S.C.H. (eds.) 2006. Ecology and evolution of flowers. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Pellmyr O. 2002. Pollination by animals. W: Plant-Animal Interaction. An Evolutionary Approach. C.M. Herrera & O. Pellmyr (eds.), Blackwell, Oxford. ss 157-184.

Proctor M., Yeo P. & Lack A. 1996. Natural History of Pollination. Harper Collins Publishers, London.

Waser N.M. & Ollerton J. 2006. Plant-pollinator interactions. From specialization to generalization. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.