PhD project: Flower color evolution in sexually deceptive orchids

In my research I work to understand communication between plants and animal pollinators. For flowering plants the interaction with pollinators is crucial for their reproduction and yields great benefits, but at great energetic costs from having to produce flowers and nectar. As a result, flowering plants are constantly developing new ways to maximize the benefits of pollination while keeping energetic costs low. There is no clearer or more visually striking example of this than the deceptive signaling found in orchids of the genus Ophrys: Ophrys flowers attract pollinators through sexual deception, i.e. by mimicking the chemical and visual signals produced by females of the insect species they want to attract. This mimicry is accurate enough to convince male insects to attempt to copulate with the flower, during which the plant attaches its pollinia to the visiting male. While the use of scent in mimicry has already received a lot of attention from previous research, I want to know about the role of colour in this deceptive attraction: How accurate is the visual mimicry of Ophrys? How do Ophrys flowers make their beautiful colours? How exactly do pollinators perceive the different structures of Ophrys flowers? My previous work on these orchids during my master’s degree has already put us on the right track to answering some of these questions, and my current project aims to further unravel the mechanisms and significance of one of nature’s most remarkable phenomena.

Notable collaborators in this research are prof. dr. Barbara Gravendeel (Website link) and prof. dr. Darrell Kemp (Website link)