传粉生物学中几种花蜜采集和糖浓度测定方法的比较

A comparison of several methods used in the field for nectar collection and concentration analysis

花蜜的研究是花生物学中的一个重要内容,探寻实用的方法将方便野外操作。我们分别运用毛细管、注射器、滤纸条和离心法采集了5种花的花蜜,以比较各种方法的优劣,并用3种旋光测糖仪测量了慈姑SagittariatrifoliaL.的雌雄花的花蜜糖含量。目的是为寻找一种适合小型花的花蜜采集测量方法。结果表明,几种方法的适用性受花的大小、形状、蜜的分泌量及蜜腺位置的影响非常大,不同的花要采用不同的方法。对于一般的野外工作建议用毛细管采集后使用便携式旋光测糖仪测其糖含量。特别小的花和蜜量微小的花可以采用离心法收集。

Techniques for collecting and measuring floral nectar are essential in many studies of pollination biology. In order to test the effectiveness of different methods for collecting nectar from small flowers, we used microcapillary tubes, calibrated syringes, wicks and centrifugation to collect floral nectar in five species （Sagittaria trifolia L., Elsholtzia ciliata （Thunb.） Hyland, Dolichos lablab L., Rostellularia procumbens （L.） Nees, and Polygonum caespitosum L.）. We also used hand-held refractometer to analyze the nectar sugar content. The results have shown that the applicability of one method varied with the floral shape and structure, nectar volume and the nectar location. It is better to use different methods to measure different flowers. For studies in the field, the techniques of using capillary tubes to collect nectar and hand-held refractometer to measure sugar content are recommended. If the flowers are too small to collect with capillary tubes, we suggest centrifugation as an alternative method to extract nectar in the laboratory.