Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-47-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-47-2018
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 | 
28 Mar 2018
Standard article |  | 28 Mar 2018

Why so many flowers? A preliminary assessment of mixed pollination strategy enhancing sexual reproduction of the invasive Acacia longifolia in Portugal

Manuela Giovanetti, Margarida Ramos, and Cristina Máguas

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Cited articles

Ackerman, J. D.: Abiotic pollen and pollination: ecological, functional, and evolutionary perspectives, Plant Syst. Evol., 222, 167–185, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00984101, 2000. 
Al-Eisawi, D. and Dajani, B.: Airborne pollen of Jordan, Grana, 27, 219–227, https://doi.org/10.1080/00173138809428929, 1988. 
Aronne, G., Giovanetti, M., Guarracino, M. R., and Micco, V.: Foraging rules of flower selection applied by colonies of Apis mellifera: ranking and associations of floral sources, Funct. Ecol., 26, 1186–1196, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.02017.x, 2012. 
Bernhardt, P.: A comparison of the diversity, density, and foraging behavior of bees and wasps on Australian Acacia, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard., 74, 42–50, https://doi.org/10.2307/2399260, 1987. 
Bernhardt, P., Kenrick, J., and Knox, R. B.: Pollination biology and the breeding system of Acacia retinodes (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae), Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden, 7, 17–29, 1984. 
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Short summary
If during a sunny day you spot the thousands of bright yellow flowering acacias on the coast of Portugal, then ask yourself who is spreading all of that pollen around! Even if the most common answer would be bees, when the acacia flowers it is still quite cold for them. This study highlights the so far neglected role of wind in acacia seed setting, arguing the influence this may have on acacia invasiveness and theories of pollination strategy evolution.