Potential pollinators and paleoecological aspects of Eocene Ludwigia (Onagraceae) from Eckfeld, Germany

Autor(en)
Christian Geier, Johannes M. Bouchal, Silvia Ulrich, Dieter Uhl, Torsten Wappler, Sonja Wedmann, Reinhard Zetter, Jürg Schönenberger, Fridgeir Grimsson
Abstrakt

Paleogene flower-insect interactions and paleo-pollination processes are, in general, poorly understood and fossil evidence for such floral and faunal interactions are rarely reported. To shed light on angiosperm flower-insect interactions, we investigated several hundred fossil flowers and insects from the middle Eocene Fossil Lagerstätte of Eckfeld, Germany. During our work, we discovered a unique fossil Ludwigia flower (bud) with in situ pollen. The ecological preferences (climate, biome, habitat, etc.) of extant Ludwigia and the paleoecological configurations of the fossil plant assemblage support the taxonomic affiliation of the flower bud and an Eocene presence of Ludwigia in the vicinity of the former Lake Eckfeld. Today’s Ludwigia are mostly pollinated by Hymenoptera (bees). Therefore, we screened all currently known hymenopteran fossils from Eckfeld but found no Ludwigia pollen adhering to any of the specimens. On the contrary, we discovered Ludwigia pollen adhering to two different groups of Coleoptera (beetles). Our study suggests that during the Eocene of Europe, Ludwigia flowers were visited and probably pollinated by beetles and over time there was a shift in primary flower visitors/pollinators, from beetles to bees, sometime during the late Paleogene to Neogene.

Organisation(en)
Department für Botanik und Biodiversitätsforschung, Institut für Urgeschichte und Historische Archäologie
Externe Organisation(en)
Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Journal
Palaeoworld
Band
33
Seiten
1079-1104
Anzahl der Seiten
26
ISSN
1871-174X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2023.07.003
Publikationsdatum
2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
105117 Paläobotanik, 106012 Evolutionsforschung
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Palaeontology, Stratigraphy
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/potential-pollinators-and-paleoecological-aspects-of-eocene-ludwigia-onagraceae-from-eckfeld-germany(59b6c818-c852-4866-aee9-2da4c267f03e).html