Meeting Abstract

94.3  Thursday, Jan. 7  Hummingbird choices at artificial flowers made to resemble bird- versus bee-pollinated flowers HALEY, W.A.*; WILSON, P.S.; California State University, Northridge; California State University, Northridge wynhaley@yahoo.com

Certain floral characteristics are associated with specific pollinators. For example, hummingbird-pollinated flowers are usually red, lack a landing platform, lack color patterns on the perianth, and contain a high amount of dilute sucrose-rich nectar compared to bee-pollinated flowers. The goal of this study was to test hypotheses concerning the reasons for these characters as they involve hummingbird behaviors. Arrays were set up that contained 16 “inflorescences,” each with five artificial “flowers.” In Experiment I, flowers were made that differed only in color, and birds showed very little preference, slightly preferring red over other colors. In Experiment II, color was made to be associated with nectar offerings, and birds learned to visit flowers of the color that provided much more nectar (6 versus 2 uL but not 4 versus 2 uL). In Experiment III, birds were offered different sugars (sucrose versus hexoses) as well as different sugar concentrations, and birds did not prefer the nectars that were similar to natural bird-adapted flowers. In Experiment IV, birds were offered flowers with and without a landing platform, and birds preferred flowers that lack a landing platform. In general, the preferences of birds fall far short of explaining the natural phenomenon of bird- versus bee-pollination syndromes.