Projects per year
Abstract
Floral pigments are a core component of flower colors, but how much pigment a flower should have to yield a strong visual signal to pollinators is unknown. Using an optical model and taking white, blue, yellow and red flowers as case studies, I investigate how the amount of pigment determines a flower’s color contrast. Modeled reflectance spectra are interpreted using established insect color vision models. Contrast as a function of the amount of pigment shows a pattern of diminishing return. Low pigment amounts yield pale colors, intermediate amounts yield high contrast, and extreme amounts of pigment do not further increase, and sometimes even decrease, a flower’s color contrast. An intermediate amount of floral pigment thus yields the highest visibility, a finding that is corroborated by previous behavioral experiments on bees. The implications for studies on plant-pollinator signaling, intraspecific flower color variation and the costs of flower color are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 731626 |
Pages (from-to) | 1 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
Volume | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 23-Sep-2021 |
Keywords
- pigmentation
- color vision
- pollination
- reflection
- absorbance
- contrast
- diminishing return
Projects
- 1 Finished
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How do flowers get their colours – and to what end?
van der Kooi, C. & Elzenga, T.
01/02/2018 → 01/02/2021
Project: Research