Meeting Abstract
Flower morphology is an important contributor to a pollinator’s ability to find and exploit the nectar source. Our previous research suggests that hawkmoth foraging performance is poor when attempting to feed from flowers whose corollas form a flat disk, but substantially better when the corolla is given even a small degree of trumpet-like curvature. To explore the relationship between floral form and nectar feeding success (a form of floral fitness landscape), we measured how corolla curvature influences pollinator foraging ability using the hawkmoth Manduca sexta and 3D-printed artificial flowers whose lateral profiles were mathematically specified. In foraging trials featuring a 36-flower array containing 6 different corolla shapes, hawkmoths were not able to exploit all flower morphs equally (ANOVA, N = 21, p < 0.01) despite visiting all flower morphs with equal frequency (ANOVA, p = 0.85) and spending equal amounts of time at all morphs (ANOVA, p = 0.74). These results corroborate earlier findings suggesting that trumpet-like corolla curvature can act as a mechanical nectar guide for nocturnal and crepuscular hawkmoths. By altering other shape parameters in our mathematical model of floral shape, we build upon these results to construct a foraging performance landscape for hawkmoths as a function of differences in floral form.
