cover of episode Pollination

Pollination

2025/4/3
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B
Beverly Glover
J
Jane Memmott
L
Lars Chittka
节
节目主持人
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节目主持人：植物依靠风、水或动物（主要是昆虫）进行授粉，并进化出各种策略吸引传粉者，昆虫寻找食物，植物则确保让它们有所收获。 Beverly Glover：授粉是大多数植物进行有性繁殖的过程，植物通过将雄性生殖细胞包裹在花粉粒中，并依靠外力将其运输到另一株植物完成受精，植物倾向于异花授粉，因为这能产生更多变异，使后代更健康，自花授粉是植物的一种备用繁殖方式，虽然不如异花授粉理想，但在某些情况下也能保证繁殖。 Lars Chittka：与风媒相比，虫媒更有效率，植物需要为昆虫提供食物作为回报，并进化出鲜艳的花朵来吸引传粉者，蜜蜂在选择花朵时会进行成本效益比较，记住那些回报最高的植物。 Jane Memmott：除了蜜蜂，还有许多其他昆虫参与授粉，它们在种类和生活方式上都存在很大差异，花蜜是简单的糖溶液，而花粉则是一种复杂的混合物，包含蛋白质、脂类、矿物质和维生素等多种成分，其形状和纹理也多种多样，植物会操纵传粉者，例如毛地黄会将更多的花蜜放在底部，引导蜜蜂从下往上采蜜，从而提高授粉效率，传粉昆虫对人类食物生产至关重要，大约70%的作物需要动物传粉，这些作物主要提供人体所需的微量营养素，传粉昆虫数量正在下降，这主要是因为杀虫剂、气候变化和栖息地丧失等因素，城市郊区的住宅花园和农村地区的自然栖息地是传粉昆虫的良好栖息地，而集约化农业则对传粉昆虫不利。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The discussion begins by defining pollination as the process by which plants reproduce sexually, highlighting the importance of pollen grains in transporting male sex cells to fertilize female egg cells. The conversation emphasizes that while most plants can self-fertilize, cross-pollination is more beneficial as it increases genetic variation, leading to healthier and more resilient offspring.
  • Pollination is the sexual reproduction process for most plants, involving the transfer of pollen grains containing sperm cells to fertilize egg cells.
  • Cross-pollination is generally preferred over self-pollination because it results in greater genetic variation and fitter offspring.
  • Plants often use a 'belt and braces' approach, relying on cross-pollination early in the flowering season and resorting to self-pollination if cross-pollination fails.

Shownotes Transcript

Since plants have to mate and produce offspring while rooted to the spot, they have to be pollinated – by wind, water, or animals – most commonly insects. They use a surprising array of tricks to attract pollinators: striking colours, iridescent light effects, and enticing scents, to name but a few.

Insects, on the other hand, do not seek to pollinate plants – they are looking for food; so plants make sure it’s worth their while. Insects are also remarkably sophisticated in their ability to find, recognise and find their way inside flowers.

So pollination has evolved as a complex dance between plants and pollinators that is essential for life on earth to continue.

With

Beverley Glover, Director of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology at the University of Bristol

And

Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary, University of London.

Producer: Eliane Glaser

Reading list:

Stephen L Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Forgotten Pollinators (Island Press, 1997)

Lars Chittka, The Mind of a Bee (Princeton University Press, 2023)

Steven Falk, Field Guide to the Bees of Britain and Ireland (British Wildlife Publishing, 2015)

Francis S. Gilbert (illustrated by Steven J. Falk), Hoverflies: Naturalists' Handbooks vol. 5 (Pelagic Publishing, 2015)

Dave Goulson, A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees (Vintage, 2014)

Edwige Moyroud and Beverley J. Glover, ‘The evolution of diverse floral morphologies’ (Current Biology vol 11, 2017)

Jeff Ollerton, Birds and Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship (Pelagic Publishing, 2024)

Alan E. Stubbs and Steven J. Falk, British Hoverflies (‎British Entomological & Natural History Society, 2002)

Timothy Walker, Pollination: The Enduring Relationship Between Plant and Pollinator (Princeton University Press, 2020)

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