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J Anim Ecol

Title:		Experimental manipulation of floral scent bouquets restructures flower-visitor interactions in the field
Author(s):		Larue AA; Raguso RA; Junker RR;
Address:		"Department of Ecology and Evolution, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria. Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Corson-Mudd Building, 215 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA"
Journal Title:		J Anim Ecol
Year:		2016
Volume:		20151002
Issue:		2
Page Number:		396 - 408
DOI:		10.1111/1365-2656.12441
ISSN/ISBN:		1365-2656 (Electronic) 0021-8790 (Linking)
Abstract:		"A common structural feature of natural communities is the non-random distribution of pairwise interactions between organisms of different trophic levels. For plant-animal interactions, it is predicted that both stochastic processes and functional plant traits that facilitate or prevent interactions are responsible for these patterns. However, unbiased manipulative field experiments that rigorously test the effects of individual traits on community structure are lacking. We address this gap by manipulating floral scent bouquets in the field. Manipulation of floral scent bouquets led to quantitative as well as qualitative restructuring of flower-visitor networks, making them more generalized. Olfactometer trials confirmed both positive and negative responses to scent bouquets. Our results clearly show that the distribution of insect visitors to the two abundant study plant species reflects the insects' species-specific preferences for floral scents, rather than for visual or morphological floral traits. Thus, floral scents may be of major importance in partitioning flower-visitor interactions. Integrating experimental manipulations of plant traits with field observations of interaction patterns thus represents a promising approach for revealing the processes that structure species assemblages in natural communities"
Keywords:		Achillea/physiology Animals Austria Bees/*physiology Cirsium/physiology Diptera/*physiology Flowers/*physiology Germany *Odorants Olfactometry *Pollination community structure floral extracts floral filters flower-visitor partitioning olfactometer trials;
Notes:		"MedlineLarue, Anne-Amelie C Raguso, Robert A Junker, Robert R eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2015/10/03 J Anim Ecol. 2016 Mar; 85(2):396-408. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12441. Epub 2015 Oct 2"