About Dr Mario Vellejo-Marin
Dr Vellejo-Marin is based at the University of Stirling and studies plant diversity and evolution, with a particular emphasis on the evolution of reproductive strategies and speciation, using a combination of field and glasshouse experiments, genetic and genomic analyses, phylogenetics, and theoretical models. For more information please visit his lab's webpage https://plant-evolution.org/wp/.
Buzz pollination: Bees, buzzes, and floral function
The evolution of buzz pollination captures a striking example of convergent evolution in floral form, in which distantly related plants evolve flower morphologies that require bees to produce powerful vibrations to release their pollen rewards. The capacity to buzz flowers for extracting pollen has evolved in half of all bee species but only very rarely among flower-visiting flies, and we still lack a general explanation for the distribution of floral buzzing among bees and flies. When bees buzz a flower for pollen, they use their massive power flight muscles in the thorax to generate vibrations that are then transmitted from the bee to the flower, where they cause pollen grains to be forcefully expelled from small openings at the tip of the anthers or corolla. Although known for 100 years, we are just beginning to understand how bee and floral traits affect the production and transmission of vibrations during buzz pollination and how they result in pollen release. In this talk, I will present some of our recent work on buzz pollination from both bee and flower perspectives. I will discuss how and why bees buzz, how floral morphology determines the effect of bee vibrations and pollen release, and why buzz-pollinated flowers evolve.