U.S.-Australian Cooperative Research: Pollination Ecology and Selection in Plants that Mimic Insects

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This award will support a three-year collaborative research project between Professor Steven N. Handel, Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, and Professor Andrew J. Beattie, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. The activity takes place under the U.S.-Australia Cooperative Science Program. The scientists will study the ecology and evolutionary biology of so-called sexually deceptive plants (plants with flowers that mimic female insects, thus attracting male insects to mate and thereby effecting pollen transport). The mimicry is known to occur only within the orchid family, and though unusual, it is observed among hundreds of species in Australia, and to a much lesser extent elsewhere. The investigators wish to explore the hypothesis that the genetic structure of these plant populations is significantly different from those in which pollination is the result of an insect foraging strategy based on food rewards (nectar or pollen). Specific species of the orchid genus Chiloglottis, pollinated by male thynnine wasps, will be studied. Field observations of the wasp flight movements among the flowers, as well as pollen transfer dynamics, will be carried out. The effects of varying average inter-flower distance and flower height on pollinator behavior will be investigated. In addition, plant samples will be taken from representative populations in the field and their genetic profiles determined, using the technique of gel electrophoresis. Correlations between the observed pollination patterns and gene flow in these species will be sought. This research in evolutionary ecology will provide an independent test of current theoretical generalizations that insect movement patterns determine the genetic structure of plant populations. In addition, the work has implications for the conservation of these orchids, some of which are endangered species. The cooperating scientists in this project bring complementary research strengths to the study. Professor Handel's expertise is in plant ecology, especially pollination biology and gene flow dynamics. Professor Beattie has considerable experience in population genetics and the biochemical analysis of plant populations. The field studies will be carried out at selected Australian locations, and the laboratory analyses performed at Macquarie University, in Sydney.