Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories

Pollen from a naturally occurring population of the forest grass species Diarrhena obovata was successfully captured in a series of pollen traps to understand the timing of anthesis and the dispersal mechanics of wind pollination in an example of the flowering plant family Poaceae. Scanning electron...

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Main Author: Phillip Klahs
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Enviroquest Ltd. 2022-07-01
Series:Journal of Pollination Ecology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/683
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author Phillip Klahs
author_facet Phillip Klahs
author_sort Phillip Klahs
collection DOAJ
description Pollen from a naturally occurring population of the forest grass species Diarrhena obovata was successfully captured in a series of pollen traps to understand the timing of anthesis and the dispersal mechanics of wind pollination in an example of the flowering plant family Poaceae. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the pollen surface ornamentation as microechinate-areolate. The spherical grains have a diameter of 38.74 μm. The settling velocity calculated by Stoke’s Law was 4.48 cm s-1, but physical measurement by drop tower experiments resulted in 3.77 ± 0.15 cm s-1 (sd). The surface ornamentation observed in D. obovata pollen is not expected to alter drag forces considerably but the reduction of settling velocity may be a result of species-specific pollen grain density.  In forest grasses an improvement in settling velocity may be adaptive in overcoming dispersal constraints in an environment where trees obstruct wind speeds and create more turbulence.
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spelling doaj.art-7e7db454a7d1430584374733a8581bc42024-01-31T09:29:08ZengEnviroquest Ltd.Journal of Pollination Ecology1920-76032022-07-0132738610.26786/1920-7603(2022)683540Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understoriesPhillip Klahs0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5693-676XIowa State UniversityPollen from a naturally occurring population of the forest grass species Diarrhena obovata was successfully captured in a series of pollen traps to understand the timing of anthesis and the dispersal mechanics of wind pollination in an example of the flowering plant family Poaceae. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the pollen surface ornamentation as microechinate-areolate. The spherical grains have a diameter of 38.74 μm. The settling velocity calculated by Stoke’s Law was 4.48 cm s-1, but physical measurement by drop tower experiments resulted in 3.77 ± 0.15 cm s-1 (sd). The surface ornamentation observed in D. obovata pollen is not expected to alter drag forces considerably but the reduction of settling velocity may be a result of species-specific pollen grain density.  In forest grasses an improvement in settling velocity may be adaptive in overcoming dispersal constraints in an environment where trees obstruct wind speeds and create more turbulence.https://pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/683settling velocityterminal velocitypoaceaepollenanemophily
spellingShingle Phillip Klahs
Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
Journal of Pollination Ecology
settling velocity
terminal velocity
poaceae
pollen
anemophily
title Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
title_full Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
title_fullStr Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
title_full_unstemmed Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
title_short Settling velocity and pollination dynamics in Diarrhena obovata, a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
title_sort settling velocity and pollination dynamics in diarrhena obovata a grass of temperate forest edges and understories
topic settling velocity
terminal velocity
poaceae
pollen
anemophily
url https://pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/683
work_keys_str_mv AT phillipklahs settlingvelocityandpollinationdynamicsindiarrhenaobovataagrassoftemperateforestedgesandunderstories