Flowers of the so-called “perfume flowers” produce floral scent that is collected exclusively by male orchid bees (Euglossini: Apidae) and used to signal their fitness/identity (species) to females during courtship display. Recent studies suggest that the evolution of floral scents in these plants is shaped by preexisting sensory biases of their euglossine pollinators. In the present project, we aim at understanding the ecological and evolutionary meaning of floral perfumes. In order to add to the knowledge of the interactions between flowers and pollinators, floral scent samples are collected and used for bioassays and chemical analyses. Sensory (olfactory) biases of pollinators are investigated using electroantenographic (EAG) analyzes, and behavioral bioassays in the field are performed with male orchid bees. The phylogenetic relationships of species with perfume flowers, as well as their pollinators will be reconstructed based on molecular data available in GenBank. With this integrative approach, we are testing fundamental hypotheses about the macroevolution of floral attributes in perfume flowers as a whole. This project will help us to both contribute to the scanty knowledge on basic aspects of the natural history of the specialized interaction involving male orchid bees and perfume flowers and understand the significance of floral scents in the ecology and evolution of this mutualism.

Collaborations: Paulo Milet-Pinheiro  (Co-PI, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil), Katharina Brandt (Ulm University), Salvatore Cozzolino (Univesity of Naples), Thomas Eltz (Ruhr University Bochum), Florian Etl (University of Vienna), Günter Gerlach (Botanicla Garden Munich), Stefan Schulz (University of Braunschweig)
Coworkers: Tara Bandesha (PhD student)
Funding: DFG