Densities of marker points for individual classes of background samples (N = 507 samples) marker points detected at greater than 5% change in reflectance over a 50 nm interval. These individual data are assembled to constitute the simulated overall natural background density. Credit: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2018
New research by experts at Monash University has used computer simulations to reveal the ancient link between bees and the evolution of flower colors. The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society Bsimulated the landscape of the first flowering plants from tens of millions of years ago, to test their visibility to pollinators such as bees and birds.
Lead author and director of the NativeBee+Tech center, Associate Professor Alan Dorin, from the Faculty of Information Technology, said insects such as bees developed visual perception long before the first flowers appeared, so they can fly and navigate among rocks, leaves, sticks and bark. .
“Our results proved that early flowers developed more dazzling colors to stand out from their dull backgrounds in order to attract ancient pollinators,” Dorin said.
To test whether bees have evolved and perceive their current environment the same way their ancestors perceived theirs, the researchers tested bees’ color perception against simulated prehistoric environments.
“Since Australia is a geologically ancient continent, we used measurements of the color spectrum of the Australian bushland, from Cairns to the southern tip of Victoria, to simulate landscapes dating back to when the first flowers evolved during the Mesozoic era, between 252 million and 66 million years ago,” Dorin explained.
Vision scientist and co-author of the research, Associate Professor Adrian Dyer, from the Department of Physiology in Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, said it was the first time that there was a strong link showing how the visual perception of ancient pollinators and modern-day bees guided the evolution of flower color.
“We can now see that, like their ancestors, bees have ultraviolet (UV), blue and green photoreceptors, which explains why some modern flowers have frequently evolved common colors like yellow in their petals in response to what can be easily perceived by bees,” Dyer said.
The results of this research will help to illuminate how plant species are pollinated in contemporary times and advance the study of smart agriculture or unlock the potential for further research in the area of efficient pollination of crops.
More information:
Alan Dorin et al, Ancient view of insects adapted to flight among rocks and plants underlies natural flower color diversity, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2018
Provided by Monash University
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