van der Kooi, Casper J. (2021) How Much Pigment Should Flowers Have? Flowers With Moderate Pigmentation Have Highest Color Contrast. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9. ISSN 2296-701X
pubmed-zip/versions/1/package-entries/fevo-09-731626/fevo-09-731626.pdf - Published Version
Download (1MB)
Abstract
Floral pigments are a core component of flower colors, but how much pigment a flower should have to yield a strong visual signal to pollinators is unknown. Using an optical model and taking white, blue, yellow and red flowers as case studies, I investigate how the amount of pigment determines a flower’s color contrast. Modeled reflectance spectra are interpreted using established insect color vision models. Contrast as a function of the amount of pigment shows a pattern of diminishing return. Low pigment amounts yield pale colors, intermediate amounts yield high contrast, and extreme amounts of pigment do not further increase, and sometimes even decrease, a flower’s color contrast. An intermediate amount of floral pigment thus yields the highest visibility, a finding that is corroborated by previous behavioral experiments on bees. The implications for studies on plant-pollinator signaling, intraspecific flower color variation and the costs of flower color are discussed.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Subjects: | EP Archives > Multidisciplinary |
Depositing User: | Managing Editor |
Date Deposited: | 03 Jul 2023 04:21 |
Last Modified: | 06 Oct 2023 12:58 |
URI: | http://research.send4journal.com/id/eprint/2462 |