Determining changes in floral volatile composition of <i> Ipomopsis aggregata </i> in response to nectar robbing and its associated microorganisms

Abstract

Mutualisms involve complex relationships between multiple types of organisms. Traditionally, mutualisms like pollination have been studied using a pairwise perspective – only focusing on two individual species or groups of species with similar functions involved in the relationship. Including third-party organisms in pollination research allows for a greater understanding of how those mutualisms can persist or break down depending on the different types of interactions. Studying these dynamics are essential to maintaining the ecosystem services provided by pollination and understanding how these mutualisms are able to persist despite interference and exploitation. Ipomopsis aggregata, a hummingbird pollinated montane herb, experiences nectar robbing from native bumble bees, Bombus occidentalis and Bombus mixtus, which reduces hummingbird visitation, pollen transfer, and the reproductive success of I. aggregata. In this study, I examined how nectar robbers and the microbes they disperse alter the chemical phenotype of Ipomopsis aggregata. While volatiles of microbial origin were detected in a subset of microbe-inoculated samples, there were no detectable differences in volatile composition across a combination of robbed and unrobbed flowers with either a sterile sucrose solution, live yeast or bacteria, or dead yeast or bacteria. The lack of distinct volatile differences is likely due to confounding variables including chemical and microbial contamination and the high variability of I. aggregata floral volatiles, along with limited sample sizes. This research offers valuable insights into the difficulties of floral and microbial volatile analysis in the field and suggests that sampling single treated flowers from more controlled populations might reduce contamination and general phenotypic volatile variation.

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