Pollination Ecology: The Practical Approach

This book aims to provide a guide to the methods and procedures involved in studying pollination ecology, particularly in the field. Chapters cover the subjects of functional floral morphology and phenology, breeding systems, pollen and stigma biology, advertisement in flowers, rewards in flowers, the plant - pollinator interface and abiotic pollination. Each chapter includes theoretical discussion, a number of protocols giving materials and methods for experimental work and, in some instances, diagrams of apparatus. Many tables and flow diagrams are included, giving information on pollination characteristics (such as flower size and shape parameters and their implications for pollinator behaviour) and procedures (such as measurement of nectar production components and evaluation of forager activity). There are appendices on trapping and marking of foragers (insects and birds), reagents and solutions, books and reviews on pollination, and suppliers of equipment.