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"Hummingbird"
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Ruby-throated hummingbirds : tiny hovering birds
This title compares and contrasts the ruby-throated hummingbird's appearance, behavior, habitat, and life cycle to other birds like the Austrian pelican and the turkey vulture.
Book
Every Little Thing
This is a film review of Every LIttle Thing (2024), directed by Sally Aitken.
Journal Article
Do Hummingbirds Hum?
Hummingbirds may be the smallest birds in the world, but they have the biggest appetites. Their wings flutter on average fifty to eighty times each second as they visit hundreds of flowers over the course of a day to sip the sweet nectar that sustains them. Their hearts beat nearly twelve hundred times a minute and their rapid breathing allows these amazing birds to sustain their unique manner of flight. They can hover in the air for prolonged periods, fly backwards using forceful wings that swivel at the shoulder, and dive at nearly two hundred miles per hour. Native only to the Americas, some hummingbirds have been known to migrate from Mexico to Alaska in the course of a season. Watching a hummingbird at a backyard feeder, we only see its glittering iridescent plumage and its long, narrow beak; its rapidly moving wings are a blur to our eyes.These tiny, colorful birds have long fascinated birders, amateur naturalists, and gardeners. But, do they really hum?InDo Hummingbirds Hum?George C. West, who has studied and banded over 13,500 hummingbirds in Arizona, and Carol A. Butler provide an overview of hummingbird biology for the general reader, and more detailed discussions of their morphology and behavior for those who want to fly beyond the basics. Enriched with beautiful and rare photography, including a section in vivid color, this engaging question and answer guide offers readers a wide range of information about these glorious pollinators as well as tips for attracting, photographing, and observing hummingbirds in the wild or in captivity.
eBook
Robo de néctar en Campsidium valdivianum: observaciones sobre la morfología floral y el papel de abejorros y aves en el sur de Chile
En los bosques templados de Chile y Argentina, muchas plantas son polinizadas por el colibrí Sephanoides sephaniodes. Una de ellas es la enredadera Campsidium valdivianum. En Argentina, el abejorro nativo Bombus dahlbomii roba néctar de las flores de C. valdivianum, mostrando preferencia por aquellas con corolas más largas. En Chile, las flores de C. valdivianum presentan tanto perforaciones pequeñas como grandes, lo que sugiere una mayor diversidad de ladrones de néctar. En el área de estudio, el robo de néctar podría ser atribuido a abejorros nativos y exóticos (B. dahlbomii y Bombus terrestris), que serían los responsables de las perforaciones pequeñas, mientras que las aves nativas (Phrygilus patagonicus y Elaenia albiceps) serían las responsables de las perforaciones grandes. Planteamos la hipótesis de que las plantas con flores más largas y estrechas experimentarían un mayor robo de néctar, tanto por abejorros como por aves, en comparación con aquellas con flores más cortas y anchas. Evaluamos los efectos de la longitud, el ancho y la variabilidad de la corola entre plantas individuales sobre la incidencia de perforaciones pequeñas y grandes. Encontramos que el 6.7% de las flores presentaron perforaciones pequeñas, mientras que el 14.8% mostraron perforaciones grandes. La longitud de la corola no se correlacionó significativamente con la ocurrencia de ninguno de los dos tipos de perforaciones. No obstante, las aves parecieron diferenciar entre plantas individuales en función de factores no considerados en este estudio. Comprender la frecuencia y las causas del robo de néctar resulta esencial para avanzar en el conocimiento de la ecología y la evolución de los rasgos florales de las plantas polinizadas por colibríes en los bosques templados de América del Sur.
Journal Article
Floral Roles in Hummingbirds‐Mediated Indirect Plant Interactions in Tropical Andean Communities
In pollination networks, indirect plant–plant interactions mediated by their shared pollinators can shape community dynamics and species fitness; yet, the influence of floral traits on species roles remains unclear, particularly in diverse ecosystems like the tropical Andes. We studied hummingbird‐mediated interactions among 31 flowering plants in three high‐elevation shrubby habitats located in southern Ecuador. During August and November 2022, and January 2023, we collected stigma samples and constructed weighted interaction networks linked by heterospecific pollen grains. Species roles were determined by defining if they were donors or receivers of pollen, measured by node degree out and node degree in, respectively. We also explored the association between the abundance of flowers and different floral traits and species roles. Finally, we assessed the potential influence of floral roles on species fitness by calculating the ratio of conspecific‐to‐heterospecific pollen grains observed in each species. We found that the identity of donor and receiver species was highly dynamic across habitats and time. Receiver species were characterized by being highly abundant, while donor species presented high levels of nectar production. Receiver species received more heterospecific pollen than conspecific pollen, indicating that the pollen‐sharing roles of species could have fitness consequences. Our findings highlight the importance of some floral traits and abundance in shaping floral roles and their potential fitness consequences in hummingbird‐mediated indirect interactions. Hummingbirds connect plants by moving pollen. Some flowers primarily donate, while, others primarily receive, and these shifting roles influence plant reproductive success depending on abundance and nectar rewards, shaping plant reproduction in the tropical Andes. Chord diagrams represent heterospecific pollen transfer among 31 flowering species across sites: La Tranca (A, B & C), Aguarongo (D, E & F) and El Gullan (G, H & I), and seasons: August 2022 (A, D & G), November (B, E & H) and January (C, F & I). Each node represent a floral species. The size of the nodes and arrows denote the prevalence of interspecific pollen transfer. The direction of the tops of the arrows indicate the direction of the interaction.
Journal Article
Nectar robbing by the invasive bumblebee Bombus terrestris but not seed set
Mutualisms between plants and pollinators may be threatened by nectar robbers, as these animals typically consume nectar without providing the essential pollination service. In the temperate forests of Chile, the shrub Fuchsia magellanica is primarily pollinated by the hummingbird Sephanoides sephaniodes and the native bumblebee Bombus dahlbomii. However, some populations are also affected by nectar robbing from the invasive bumblebee Bombus terrestris. In a study evaluating 24 populations of F. magellanica, we assessed the effects of nectar robbing on nectar production, the foraging behavior of key pollinators, and the reproductive success of the plant. We measured the nectar production rate and standing crop in flowers that were either protected from visitors or exposed to them. We also observed flower visitation, the foraging behavior of pollinators, and seed sets in experimentally manipulated flowers. Results indicated that nectar robbing reduced nectar production rates by a factor of 4, and the standing crop of nectar by 2.9 times. With an increased percentage of flowers pierced by B. terrestris, the hummingbird S. sephaniodes appeared to reduce its pollinating visits, while B. terrestris increased its robbing visits. Despite these changes in pollinator behavior, there was no significant effect on the seed set. Ultimately, our findings suggest that for F. magellanica, B. terrestris does not pose a significant threat to reproduction, despite its disruptive impact on pollinator behavior.
Journal Article
Tracking temporal shifts in area, biomes, and pollinators in the radiation of Salvia (sages) across continents
Premise of the Study A key question in evolutionary biology is why some clades are more successful by being widespread geographically, biome diverse, or species‐rich. To extend understanding of how shifts in area, biomes, and pollinators impact diversification in plants, we examined the relationships of these shifts to diversification across the mega‐genus Salvia. Methods A chronogram was developed from a supermatrix of anchored hybrid enrichment genomic data and targeted sequence data for over 500 of the nearly 1000 Salvia species. Ancestral areas and biomes were reconstructed using BioGeoBEARS. Pollinator guilds were scored, ancestral pollinators determined, shifts in pollinator guilds identified, and rates of pollinator switches compared. Key Results A well‐resolved phylogenetic backbone of Salvia and updated subgeneric designations are presented. Salvia originated in Southwest Asia in the Oligocene and subsequently dispersed worldwide. Biome shifts are frequent from a likely ancestral lineage utilizing broadleaf and/or coniferous forests and/or arid shrublands. None of the four species diversification shifts are correlated to shifts in biomes. Shifts in pollination system are not correlated to species diversification shifts, except for one hummingbird shift that precedes a major shift in diversification near the crown of New World subgen. Calosphace. Multiple reversals back to bee pollination occurred within this hummingbird clade. Conclusions Salvia diversified extensively in different continents, biomes, and with both bee and bird pollinators. The lack of tight correlation of area, biome, and most pollinator shifts to the four documented species diversification shifts points to other important drivers of speciation in Salvia.
Journal Article