Floral traits and pollination system of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum in the managed and wild populations in an arid region of Northwest China

Zygophyllum xanthoxylum, which belongs to Sarcozygium of Zygophyllaceae, is one of the ecologically important species in Northwest China. In order to understand the pollination system of Z. xanthoxylum, we investigated the following characteristics of this species in the Urat Desert-grassland Research Station in western Inner Mongolia of China： flowering dynamics, pollen viability, pollen limitation, floral visitors and breeding system. The results showed that the flowering period and flowering peak were different between the wild and managed popula- tions, being longer in the managed population. Z. xanthoxylum was pollen-limited, and pollen limitation was more intense in the wild population than in the managed population. Chalicodoma deserticola （Hymenoptera） was found to be the most frequent pollinator in the wild population, while Anthophora fulvitarsis （Hymenoptera） was the most frequent and effective visitor in the managed population. Out-crossing was dominant in the breeding system and self-pollination just played an assistant role to assure the reproduction of Z. xanthoxylum.

Patterns and drivers of plant sexual systems in the dry-hot valley region of southwestern China

Sexual systems play important roles in angiosperm evolution and exhibit substantial variations among different floras. Thus, studying their evolution in a whole flora is crucial for understanding the formation and maintenance of plant biodiversity and predicting its responses to environmental change. In this study, we determined the patterns of plant sexual systems and their associations with geographic elements and various life-history traits in dry-hot valley region of southwestern China, an extremely vulnerable ecosystem. Of the 3166 angiosperm species recorded in this area, 74.5% were hermaphroditic,13.5% were monoecious and 12% were dioecious, showing a high incidence of diclinous species. Diclinous species were strongly associated with tropical elements, whereas hermaphroditic species were strongly associated with temperate and cosmopolitan elements. We also found that hermaphroditism was strongly associated with showy floral displays, specialist entomophily, dry fruits and herbaceous plants.Dioecy was strongly associated with inconspicuous, pale-colored flowers, generalist entomophily, fleshy fruits, and woody plants, whereas monoecy was strongly associated with inconspicuous, pale-colored flowers, anemophily, dry fruits, and herbaceous plants. In addition, hermaphroditic species with generalist entomophily tended to flower in the dry season, whereas diclinous species with specialist entomophily tended to flower in the rainy season. However, independent of sexual systems, plants that produce dry fruits tended to flower in the rainy season and set fruits in the dry season, but the opposite pattern was found for fleshy fruit-producing plants. Our results suggest that in the dry-hot valleys, plant sexual systems are associated with geographic elements as well as various life-history traits that are sensitive to environmental change.

How generalists coexist: the role of floral phenotype and spatial factors in the pollination systems of two Ranunculus species

Aims Competition for pollinators between phenotypically similar flowers is believed to play an important role in floral trait diversification in the angiosperms.However,in many plant communities,species with apparently similar floral phenotypes and generalist pollina-tion systems co-flower.Here,the pollination systems of Ranunculus acris L.and Ranunculus repens L.were investigated to determine the factors enabling the species to coexist within apparently over-lapping pollination niches.Methods Sympatrically flowering populations of R.acris and R.repens were investigated at three study sites in West Wales.The flo-ral phenotypes of the two species were compared using meas-urements of floral morphology and spectral analyses of petal reflectance,using principal component analysis and bee and fly colour-space models.Evidence of inter-specific discrimina-tion by foraging insects was tested for in the field and using floral arrays.The relative roles of behavioural constancy and spatial patchiness in maintaining pollinator fidelity were estimated.Important Findings The floral phenotypes of R.acris and R.repens differed significantly.Social bees were highly constant when foraging at flowers of the two species and patchy floral distribution explained some of the observed fidelity.Dipterans visiting mixed floral arrays appeared to discriminate between the species,visiting more R.acris than R.repens flowers,but there was no difference in the number of vis-its to single-species arrays.Social bees were more likely to display constancy to flowers of R.repens in the field.Patchiness in floral distribution,subtle differences in floral phenotype,pollinator preferences and behavioural constancy are all likely to con-tribute to the continued coexistence of R.acris and R.repens,despite apparent overlap in their pollination niches.Such differences have the potential to facilitate the maintenance of species diversity in plant com-munities,even where plants appear to share similar floral phenotypes.

Flower Pollination Heuristics for Nonlinear Active Noise Control Systems

In this paper,a novel design of the flower pollination algorithm is presented for model identification problems in nonlinear active noise control systems.The recently introduced flower pollination based heuristics is implemented to minimize the mean squared error based merit/cost function representing the scenarios of active noise control system with linear/nonlinear and primary/secondary paths based on the sinusoidal signal,random and complex random signals as noise interferences.The flower pollination heuristics based active noise controllers are formulated through exploitation of nonlinear filtering with Volterra series.The comparative study on statistical observations in terms of accuracy,convergence and complexity measures demonstrates that the proposed meta-heuristic of flower pollination algorithm is reliable,accurate,stable as well as robust for active noise control system.The accuracy of the proposed nature inspired computing of flower pollination is in good agreement with the state of the art counterpart solvers based on variants of genetic algorithms,particle swarm optimization,backtracking search optimization algorithm,fireworks optimization algorithm along with their memetic combination with local search methodologies.Moreover,the central tendency and variation based statistical indices further validate the consistency and reliability of the proposed scheme mimic the mathematical model for the process of flower pollination systems.

Towards a Modeling of the Impacts of Road Verge Management on the Pollination Service Using System Dynamics: A Case Study in France

Several research studies have proven that eliciting and predicting the impact of human activity on ecosystem services will be crucial to support stakeholders’ awareness and to decide how to interact with the environment in a more sustainable manner. In this sense, the ecosystems known as road verges are particularly important because of their length and surface at an international scale, and their role in mitigating the damage done by roads. Plant pollination by insects is one of the most important ecosystem services. Because of its nature and the fact that they extend across a variety of landscapes, roadside can contribute to the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, under the condition of adapted management practices. This research is the first attempt to develop a System Dynamics-based aiming to estimate the ecological and economic impact of maintenance on the road verge pollination service in France. Maintenance strategies of road verges are simulated to compare their performance. The results show that there are ways to improve current maintenance strategies in terms of pollination value, but also that the model needs to consider other ecosystem services and synergistic effects that could further affect pollination to obtain more accurate estimations.

Maximizing Resource Efficiency in Cloud Data Centers through Knowledge-Based Flower Pollination Algorithm (KB-FPA)

Cloud computing is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field,where the demand for resources fluctuates continuously.This paper delves into the imperative need for adaptability in the allocation of resources to applications and services within cloud computing environments.The motivation stems from the pressing issue of accommodating fluctuating levels of user demand efficiently.By adhering to the proposed resource allocation method,we aim to achieve a substantial reduction in energy consumption.This reduction hinges on the precise and efficient allocation of resources to the tasks that require those most,aligning with the broader goal of sustainable and eco-friendly cloud computing systems.To enhance the resource allocation process,we introduce a novel knowledge-based optimization algorithm.In this study,we rigorously evaluate its efficacy by comparing it to existing algorithms,including the Flower Pollination Algorithm(FPA),Spark Lion Whale Optimization(SLWO),and Firefly Algo-rithm.Our findings reveal that our proposed algorithm,Knowledge Based Flower Pollination Algorithm(KB-FPA),consistently outperforms these conventional methods in both resource allocation efficiency and energy consumption reduction.This paper underscores the profound significance of resource allocation in the realm of cloud computing.By addressing the critical issue of adaptability and energy efficiency,it lays the groundwork for a more sustainable future in cloud computing systems.Our contribution to the field lies in the introduction of a new resource allocation strategy,offering the potential for significantly improved efficiency and sustainability within cloud computing infrastructures.

A Novel Flower Pollination Algorithm to Solve Load Frequency Control for a Hydro-Thermal Deregulated Power System

Load frequency control plays a vital role in power system operation and control. LFC regulates the frequency of larger interconnected power systems and keeps the net interchange of power between the pool members at predetermined values for the corresponding changes in load demand. In this paper, the two-area, hydrothermal deregulated power system is considered with Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) in both the areas. RFB is an energy storage device, which converts electrical energy into chemical energy, that is used to meet the sudden requirement of real power load and hence very effective in reducing the peak shoots. With conventional proportional-integral (PI) controller, it is difficult to get the optimum solution. Hence, intelligent techniques are used to tune the PI controller of the LFC to improve the dynamic response. In the family of intelligent techniques, a recent nature inspired algorithm called the Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) gives the global minima solution. The optimal value of the controller is determined by minimizing the ISE. The results show that the proposed FPA tuned PI controller improves the dynamic response of the deregulated system faster than the PI controller for different cases. The simulation is implemented in MATLAB environment.

Effect of Apis mellifera on community composition of local pollinator bees and their pollination network in Qinling Mountains and surrounding areas

The Qinling Mountains, known for their rich vegetation and diverse pollinating insects, have seen a significant decline in bee species richness and abundance over recent decades, largely due to the introduction and spread of Apis mellifera. This decline has caused cascading effects on the region's community structure and ecosystem stability. To improve the protection of native bees in the natural and agricultural landscape of the Qinling Mountains and its surrounding areas, we investigated 33 sampling sites within three habitats: forest, forest-agriculture ecotones, and farmland. Using a generalized linear mixing model, t-test, and other data analysis methods, we explored the impact of Apis mellifera on local pollinator bee richness, abundance, and the pollination network in different habitats in these regional areas. The results show that(1)Apis mellifera significantly negatively affects the abundance and richness of wild pollinator bees,while Apis cerana abundance is also affected by beekeeping conditions.(2)There are significant negative effects of Apis mellifera on the community structure of pollinator bees in the Qinling Mountains and its surrounding areas: the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index, and Margalef richness index of bee communities at sites with Apis mellifera influence were significantly lower than those at sites without Apis mellifera influence.(3)The underlying driver of this effect is the monopolization of flowering resources by Apis mellifera. This species tends to visit flowering plants with large nectar sources, which constitute a significant portion of the local plant community. By maintaining a dominant role in the bee-plant pollination network, Apis mellifera competitively displaces native pollinator bees, reducing their access to floral resources. This ultimately leads to a reduction in local bee-plant interactions, decreasing the complexity and stability of the pollination network. These findings highlight the need for targeted conservation efforts to protect native pollinator species and maintain the ecological balance in the Qinling Mountains.

Ovule Development, Formation of Pollination Drop and Pollination Process in Taxus chinensis (Taxaceae)

Pollen morphology and hydration, ovule development, formation of pollination drop and the pollination process of Taxus chinensis (Pilg.) Rehd were investigated in detail. The results showed that mature pollen was one_celled, irregular in shape, nonsaccate, and the surface was covered with orbicules. When pollen became hydrated, the intine swelled and the exine bursted. The exine usually remained on the surface of water or on the pollination drop all the time, while the rest portion of the pollen sank into the drop of water or the pollination drop. In the late August, the down_curved female buds could be observed in the field trees. The downturning of the female buds was an characteristic feature discriminating from the vegetative buds. At this stage ovular primordium was present in the female bud with a dome_shaped nucellar primordium encircled by a rudimentary integument. The integument grew fast and overgrew the nucellus. In the March of the following year, the ovule formed a micropylar canal about 1?000 μm in length, 200-300 μm in width. Except the micropyle, the other part of the ovule was enclosed by 20-25 scales. During the early stage of the ovule development, the nucellar surface clearly showed cell configuration; but a membrane_like structure covering the nucellar apex appeared in the late stage of the ovule development, and subsequently broke down with nucellar cell disintegration before pollen shedding. The disintegrated cell products might partake in the formation of the pollination drop. Before and during pollination, the nucellar cells contained abundant mitochondria, endospermic reticulum and dictysomes with vesicles; the plasma membrane was undulated and there was no accumulation of electron_dense substances in the pericytoplasm. Pollination drops usually occurred at night, and disappeared by noon in the field tree. 15 days before pollination, the in vitro ovules from the field trees already had the capability of producing pollination drops, which could last for 4-5 days indoors. However, after these drops received pollen, they did not withdraw noticeably compared with the unpollinated ones. The retraction of the pollination drop was presumed not to be a nonmetabolic outcome but rather a result of evaporation.

The Mechanism of Pollination in Platycladus orientalis and Thuja occidentalis (Cupressaceae)

The pollination mechanisms of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco and Thuja occidentalis L. seem to be of the same type, as based on the morphological study of the change in pollination drop, during the process of pollination. Entering the pollination drop, the pollen may alter the surface of the drop or reduce the secretion of the ovule with concomitant increase of evaporation. It has been further noticed that the dynamiechange of the drop withdrawal rate was closely associated with the different kinds of pollen received. It seemsthat the withdrawal of the pollination drop may be induced by pollen from plants consanguineous to P. orientalis, almost as effective as from pollen of P. orientalis itself and comparatively more effective than the foreignpollen received from distant plant species. The drop withdrawal could he mainly induced by the pollen that causes the reduction of ovule secretion.

Pollination Biology of Ficus hispida in the Tropical Rainforests of Xishuangbanna, China

Ficus hispida L. (Moraceae) is a remarkable species in the ecosystem of tropical rainforests in Xishuangbanna, China. The figs and fig_pollination wasps (Chalcidoidae: Agaonidae) are highly co_evolved mutualists that depend completely on each other for propagating descendants. Pollination of all fig species is done by fig wasps; their unique symbiotic associates, the fig wasps, cannot develop in anywhere except in the fig syconia. The present paper reports on the biology and flowering phenology of F. hispida , as well as the propagation character and pollination behavior of the fig wasps (Ceratosolen solmsi marchali Mayr) based on our observations in the rainforests of Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan of China. F. hispida is a dioecious tree that annually blossoms and bears fruits 6-8 times, with four to five fruit_bearing peaks. The male trees produce pollen and provide fig wasps with reproductive havens, while the female trees produce fig seeds after pollination by the female wasps. Pollen of F. hispida cannot escape from the dehiscent anthers until they are disturbed by fig wasps. The female wasps open the anthers and collect pollen with their antennal scrapes, mandibles and legs, and then carry pollen to the female receptive syconia where fertilization takes place. Meanwhile, some of the female wasps lay eggs in the male receptive syconia. It takes about 3-67 min to search for the receptive syconia for pollination, and 15-23 h to enter the female receptive syconia. The number of female wasps entering a syconium has close relation with the impregnation and seed_bearing rate of female flowers, as well as the oviposition and reproduction rate of the fig wasps themselves. F. hispida is endowed with a relatively high level of seed bearing (54.1%-82.5%, average 73.8 %). The wasp oviposition rate on the male flowers is between 72.3% and 93.8% with a mean of 84.4%.

A Preliminary Study on Pollination Biology of an Endangered Orchid, Changnienia amoena, in Shennongjia

Changnienia amoena Chien is a monotypic species and endemic to China, and was listed on the Chinese Red Book in 1992. The species was once abundant but has become rare and endangered in recent years because of the habitat fragmentation and unduly commercial collections. Previous observation showed that this species has very low and even no fruit set, and the pollinators are not observed before this report. The present observation was conducted at the Shennongjia, Hubei Province during the spring of 2002. The results showed that Bombus (Diversobombus) trifasciatus Smith, B. imitator Pittion and one species of Apis visited the flowers of the orchid, but only B. tritasciatus could carry pollinaria on its body and was the legitimate pollinators of C amoena. During 113 h of observation, only nine visitations were recorded. The bumblebees mainly appeared during 12:00-15:00 during the day. Bumblebees stayed in a flower only a few seconds and never more than ten seconds. The flowers would persist in fresh for about three weeks when they were not pollinated, but 3 or 4 d after pollinated, the pollinated flowers underwent a series of color and morphological changes including stalk elongation and ovary swelling. Therefore, stalk elongation can be considered an index of fruits set. Artificial pollination indicated that C amoena is a highly self-compatible and outcrossing species, but dependent on pollinators for fruit set. Based on the field observations, we concluded that pollination system of C amoena is deceptive. The fruit set in nature is not very low (26.98% on average) compared to other deceptive orchids, which may be related to small population sizes. The number of pollinia removal is much higher than that of fruit set, indicating that there are some degrees of pollinia wasting in C amoena.

Pollination Compatibility of Six Lycium barbarum L.Varieties

[Objective] The aim was to research pol ination compatibility of Six Lycium barbarum L. Varieties. [Method] Self-fertilization and reciprocal cross fertilization tests were conducted among the Six Lycium barbarum L. Varieties. [Result] Ningqi No.3 was of self-incompatibility and the self-fertilization fruit set ratio was only 1.33%; the self-compatibility of Ningqi No.2 was only 31.74%; the rest kept self-compatibility higher than 50%. The six varieties al showed better compatibility in general, espe-cial y for Ningqi No.3, whose fruit set ratio and weight of single fruit can be im-proved once a suitable pol inizer is found. [Conclusion] The research providers refer-ences for pol inizer-trees in production.

Expression of Ethylene Biosynthetic Genes Regulated by Pollination associated Factors in Doritaenopsis hybrida Flowers

Pollination of flowers initiates postpollination development in orchid (Doritaenopsis hybrida Hort.) flowers, including perianth senescence, stigma closure, and ovary development. Because ethylene is thought to play a key role in coordinating these developmental changes, the authors studied the temporal and spatial patterns of expression of genes encoding 1 aminocyclopropane 1 carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase and ACC oxidase following pollination associated factor treatments in orchid flowers. Both ACC synthase and ACC oxidase mRNA accumulation in the various parts of the flowers is induced by auxin, and ethylene, but not by emasculation. The patterns of both ACC synthase and ACC oxidase mRNA accumulation are similar in all floral organs following auxin and ethylene treatments. Further, in situ hybridization analysis indicates that the ACC oxidase mRNA is localized in epidermal and parenchyma cells of the stigma after auxin and ethylene treatments. The putative roles of auxin, ethylene and emasculation are discussed in terms of the regulation of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase gene expression in flowers.

Effects of Synchronous Pollination on Growth of Maize Kernels at the Tip of Ear

Under natural pollination （NP）, early-fertilized ovaries at the base of ear promote kernel abortion of late-fertilized ovades from the tip in maize （Zea mays L.）. Synchronous pollination （SP） improves maize kernel set, but the physiological masons behind this response are yet unclear. We e^amined maize kernel growth at the tip of ear subjected to NP or SP with different ~.ant density of 6 plants/rr~ or 9 plants/n~. Synchronous pollination of ears baged before silking was obtained by hand pollination on 3 days after silking （DAS） and samples were taken from natural and hand-pollinated ears on 8, 13, 18, and 23 DAS. At each sampling date, kemel fresh weight, volume and dry weight at the tip of ear were all higher for maize grown under SP than NP, and the contents of soluble sugar, sucrose, starch, nitro- gen and the ratios of soluble sugar to nitrogen （C/N） in kernel at the tip of ear were all higher too for maize grown under SP than NP.

Study on Spontaneous Self-pollination Mechanism of Asarum sieboldii

[Objective] The aim of this study was to investigate spontaneous self- pollination mechanism of Asarum sieboldii. [Methed] Through field observation and manual controlling test under the cultivated condition, the whole flowering process of Asarum sieboldii belonging to Asarum subgenus Heterotropa was thoroughly ob- served to investigate its pollination mechanism. [Result] Asarum sieboldii is a kind of species dominated by spontaneous self-pollination. Its female flower became mature firstly, and the duration of single flower ranged from 3 to 4 d. The first day was fe- male phase duration, and the stigmas could receive foreign pollen, while stamen fila- ments bent down towards the base of calyx tube with 90°, and anther had no crack. During the following 2 days, two cycles of stamens erected subsequently, while an- thers became dehiscent and naturally contacted with stigma at the same time, so spontaneous self-pollination was finished. Artificial self-pollination and out-crossing test had proved that the out-crossing of Asarum sieboldii were all fertile with seed setting rate of 100%. Emasculation by bagging test had suggested that Asarum sieboldii had no parthenocarpy and apomixes. [Conclusion] Asarum sieboldii belongs to sub- genus Heterotropa, but its pollination mechanism is similar to that of subgenus Asarum.

Effects of Supplementary Pollination by Single-rotor Agricultural Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Hybrid Rice Seed Production

In 2012-2015, under the conditions of different natural wind speeds, the single-rotor agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle was used for the supplementary pollination during seed production of 10 hybrid combinations with big parental row ratios in the hybrid rice seed production bases of Hunan, Hainan and Guangdong Province, and the pollination effects were studied through the investigation of pollen density in the field, outcrossing seeding rate of female parent and seed production yield. The results showed that under the parental row ratio of 6：（40-60）, the seed setting rate and yields of the supplementary pollination by single-rotor agricultural UAV could reach and even higher than those of artificial pollination, indicating the single-rotor agricultural UAV could be used in supplementary pollination for hybdd rice seed production, which could promote the whole-process mechanization of seed production.

Sexual and Breeding Systems in a Xerophytic Shrubland

Reproductive systems are fundamental attributes for understanding life cycle and regeneration processes and provide information about seed production and genetic diversity. Analyses of reproductive strategies within communities and their associations with functional groups can indicate how physical and biological characteristics may influence the reproductive ecology of such communities. The main goal was to determine if the reproductive systems and their associated functional groups have particular characteristics related to extreme conditions and disturbance within xerophytic shrubland. Floral morphology analysis and four experimental tests were conducted to determine the reproductive systems of species and their associations with the life form, succulence, carbon metabolism, dispersal syndrome, pollination, and disturbance. Of the 144 plant species studied, 72.9% were hermaphrodite, 22.9% were monoecious, and 4.2% were dioecious. Dioecy was associated with woodiness, frugivory and undisturbed areas, while monoecy was more common in herbs. Adichogamy, protandry and herkogamy were more frequent than dichogamy, protogyny and no herkogamy, respectively. Xenogamous species tend to be woody and grow in undisturbed areas, while partially xenogamous species were mainly herbs occurring in disturbed areas. The majority of species were partially self-incompatible. High levels of outbreeding strategies tended to occur mainly in woody K-strategy species from undisturbed areas, mixed breeding strategies occurred in disturbed areas and overall community, and inbreeding strategies were associated with mostly herbaceous r-strategy primarily in disturbed areas.

Embryological Studies on In Vitro Pollination in Rice

In. vitro pollination and its embryological studies were carried out in two japonica cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L.), 'Chunjiang 05' and '95046'. N-6 basic medium supplemented with different exogenous hormones was used for ovary culture after in vitro pollination. The main results were as follows: (1) both cultivars were induced to set kernels after in vitro pollination. The frequency of seedset was 52.1%, including 28.4% normal embryo development, 2.2% abnormal embryo development and 21.5% callus formation. (2) The processes of embryo and endosperm development after in vitro pollination were basically as normal as those in vivo, except there was some retardation in the first division of zygotes and primary endosperm nuclei as well as in their subsequent development. However, both kernels and plantlets could be produced finally. (3) A few abnormal embryos were observed, for instance, proembryos with elongated suspensor and vacuolated proembryos. (4) Two types of calli in the cultured ovaries appeared, namely, the compact callus and the fragile callus, which were able to differentiate into adventitious buds and roots.

Calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase OsCIPK23 functions in pollination and drought stress responses in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Drought is very harmful to grain yield due to its adverse effect on reproduction, especially on pollination process in rice. However, the molecular basis of such an effect still remains largely unknown. Here, we report the role of a member of CBL （Calcineurin B-Like） Interacting Protein Kinase （CIPK） family, OsCIPK23, in pollination and stress responses in rice. Molecular analyses revealed that it is mainly expressed in pistil and anther but up-regulated by pollination, as well as by treatments of various abiotic stresses and phytohormones. RNA interference-mediated suppression of OsCIPK23 expression significantly reduced seed set and conferred a hypersensitive response to drought stress, indicating its possible roles in pollination and drought stress. In consistent, overexpression of OsCIPK23 induced the expression of several drought tolerance related genes. Taken together, these results indicate that OsCIPK23 is a multistress induced gene and likely mediates a signaling pathway commonly shared by both pollination and drought stress responses in rice.