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Primula Vulgaris (primula + vulgari)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	66%

Selected Abstracts

Do linear landscape elements in farmland act as biological corridors for pollen dispersal?

JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Anja Van Geert
Summary 1.,Habitat fragmentation in agricultural landscapes has reduced the population sizes of many plant species while increasing their spatial isolation. Restoration or maintenance of the connectivity by gene flow between the fragmented patches may be determinant to sustaining viable populations, especially for insect-pollinated species. Functional biological corridors facilitating pollen flow between remnants in a human-dominated matrix might achieve this. 2.,Dye dispersal was investigated for the extremely fragmented insect-pollinated herb Primula vulgaris, using fluorescent dye particles as pollen analogues, in a study site comprising 20 populations, of which 13 pairs were physically connected by a linear landscape elements (LLEs, ditches), and 11 pairs were not connected by an LLE. The dye deposition events were used to fit a model of pollen dispersal at the landscape level. We examined whether existing LLEs in the intensively used agricultural landscape act as functional corridors for pollen dispersal. The effects of LLE length and size and plant density of the recipient population on the dispersal patterns were tested. 3.,Dye dispersal showed a leptokurtic decay distribution, with 80% of the dye transfers occurring at less than 85.1 m, and a maximal distance of 1010.8 m. The mean distance travelled by fluorescent dye particles based on the dye dispersal model was , = 87 m. 4.,Dye dispersal between populations was found to be significantly higher when populations were connected by an LLE, than when populations were unconnected. For the group of population pairs connected by an LLE, dye deposition significantly decreased with the distance to dye source, but was not related to recipient population size and plant density. 5.,Synthesis. Our study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate that existing LLEs in an intensively used farmland may act as functional biological corridors facilitating pollen dispersal through pollinator movements. The maintenance or restoration of a network of populations connected by LLEs, but also by other landscape structures (e.g. population relays in vegetation patches and networks of small elements allowing indirect connections) should be strongly encouraged. [source]

Reduced reproductive success in small populations of the self-incompatible Primula vulgaris

JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Rein Brys
Summary 1Habitat fragmentation and the resulting decline in population size can affect biotic interactions and reproductive success of plant species. We investigated the impact of habitat type, population size, morph type and frequency, plant density, floral display and predation on different reproductive components in 16 populations of the distylous self-incompatible perennial herb, Primula vulgaris , a rare, declining species in Belgium. 2Although habitat type accounted for significant variation in population size, we did not find any relation between habitat type and either reproductive and vegetative characteristics. Population size, however, strongly affected reproductive success, such that plants in small populations produced significantly fewer fruits per plant and seeds per fruit, and therefore fewer seeds per plant. 3No significant difference was found between morph types for any reproductive characteristic, nor an interaction with population size. However, when morph frequency was strongly biased (, 1 : 3), the proportion of flowers setting fruit and the number of seeds per fruit were significantly lower in individuals of the common morph type. 4Within populations, individual plants varied tremendously in size and floral display. Total number of fruits per plant significantly increased with floral display, but the highest fruit set per flower was found at intermediate flower number. 5The proportion of fruit suffering pre-dispersal predation per plant significantly increased with floral display, but this did not offset the potential fitness gains of producing a large display. Furthermore, the absolute number of predated fruits per plant was significantly and positively affected by the interaction of the total number of fruits per plant and the density of the population. [source]

Spectral filters for the control of Botrytis cinerea

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
J S WEST
Summary Experiments performed in vitro examined the sporulation of Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) under different spectral distributions. Eighty-three isolates, taken from plants of primula (Primula vulgaris) at different locations throughout the UK, were incubated in the dark, with visible light only and visible plus near-ultraviolet (nUV) light. On average, compared to isolates not exposed to nUV, sporulation was increased 54-fold following illumination with nUV light. No isolates showed complete insensitivity to near ultraviolet. New polyethylene materials with different optical properties were then tested on two typical isolates. A film which removed nUV up to 405 nm, compared to a film with nUV absorption up to 384 nm, resulted in the lowest production of conidia (by 5-fold). The former film was used to clad horticultural polyethylene tunnels in which crops of P. vulgaris and strawberry were grown for two seasons and the incidence of B. cinerea assessed throughout the growth of the crops. The incidence of infection on the P. vulgaris and strawberries was reduced by c. 50% and c. 26% respectively with the nUV blocking film compared to a standard film. The results are discussed in terms of the potential of spectral filters as a novel means of grey mould control in greenhouse-produced crops. [source]

Applying a continua landscape approach to evaluate plant response to fragmentation: Primula vulgaris in the Cantabrian mountains

APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009
Alicia Valdés
Abstract Question: Continua landscape approaches conceptualize the effects of habitat fragmentation on the biota by considering fragmented landscapes as continuous gradients, departing from the view of habitat as either suitable (fragment) or unsuitable (matrix). They also consider the ecological gradients or the ,Umwelt' (species-specific perception of the landscape) to represent the processes that ultimately limit organisms' ability to colonize and persist within habitat remnants. Are these approaches suitable for evaluating the response of plant species to fragmentation? Location: Fragmented mid-elevation temperate forests, Cantabrian range, Spain. Methods: The presence, abundance and demographic structure of populations of the perennial herb Primula vulgaris were sampled across a continuous extent of 100 ha, subdivided into 400 50 m × 50 m sampling units. These variables were related to forest availability, forest subdivision and edge density, topography and the spatial clumpiness of populations (a measure of plant dispersal constraints and, hence, a major surrogate of plant Umwelt). Results: Fragmentation processes, especially habitat loss, negatively affect P. vulgaris, with a stronger effect on presence than on abundance and demography. Despite the importance of habitat availability, P. vulgaris does not occupy all potentially suitable forest habitat, mostly owing to dispersal constraints. A positive effect of slope on plant presence also suggests some effect of habitat quality in determining establishment and occupancy of forest landscape. Conclusions: Within-habitat dispersal constraints are as important as forest fragmentation in determining the landscape-scale distribution of P. vulgaris. By assessing the relative role of the diverse fragmentation processes, and of the species' landscape perception, a continua landscape approach proves to be a valuable tool for predicting plant response to landscape change. [source]