The University of Michigan researchers have found that global warming is causing Spring to arrive earlier, which could negatively impact plant-pollinator relationships. They discovered that some plants are responding by producing larger flowers to attract pollinators, in addition to blooming earlier. The study focused on the common morning glory plant in the southeastern US, which increased the size of its flowers from 2003 to 2012, particularly in northern latitudes. Prior studies have indicated that regions in the north where plants are present tend to experience significant evolutionary transformations due to climate change.
The researchers noted that an increase in the size of flowers indicates that plants are making a stronger effort to attract pollinators. The common morning glory plants had also allocated more resources towards producing nectar and pollen, with the intention of luring more bees, syrphid flies, and wasps for pollination. Furthermore, the researchers discovered that the shape and the benefits offered by flowers, in addition to the already documented advancement of blooming earlier, can also have a significant impact on the way plants adapt to current environmental changes over time.
The study was conducted with the University of Georgia through a resurrection approach. The researchers grew morning glory plants from seeds collected in 2003 and 2012 from agricultural fields situated in Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The area underwent significant alterations in its climate during that timeframe, such as elevated temperatures, an upsurge in rainfall frequency, and severe droughts. Subsequently, the researchers cultivated these seeds within a regulated setting at the University of Michigan to supervise their progression.
The study found that morning glory flowers grew wider by 0.3 centimeters over a nine-year period, from 4.5 cm in 2003 to 4.8 cm in 2012. Furthermore, the morning glories from 2012 bloomed four days earlier than those from 2003. This study is the first to use the resurrection approach to investigate how plant-pollinator interaction traits might be evolving in response to environmental changes caused by factors such as climate change and land-use patterns, which have resulted in declines in pollinator numbers.
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