pollination exclusion experiment

Knowledge graph centered on pollination exclusion experiment with 76 nodes and 222 connections. Top connected: Hummingbird, Bombus, Ipomopsis, Ligusticum porteri, Delphinium.

Method synopsis

Experimental addition of outcross pollen to flowers to test whether natural pollination limits plant reproductive success, comparing reproductive output between hand-pollinated and naturally pollinated flowers.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 36 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Does pollination interact with the abiotic environment to affect plant reproduction? (2025), Annals of Botany. The protocol was originally introduced by Reproductive isolation and hybrid pollen disadvantage in <i>Ipomopsis</i> (2003), Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Apply pollination treatments
   Randomly assigned four pollination treatments to each half of plot: two control treatments and two supplement treatments. Added supplemental outcross pollen to all stigmas on treatment plants three times per week throughout flowering period. For control plants, removed anthers from donor plants outside plots using forceps and gently rubbed across stigmas of treatment plants until visibly covered in pollen. Used standard technique in pollination biology for assessing pollen limitation.
   Quantities: All plants in treatment areas received pollen supplementation; pollen collected from plants at least 1 m from focal plantsDuration: Three times per week throughout flowering period of each speciesConditions: During morning hours when anthers contained visible pollen, typically 08:00-10:00 h
   Equipment: forceps
2. Collect and count reproductive output
   Collected fruits as they matured, counted seeds and quantified number of fruits per flower, seeds per fruit and seeds per plant as measures of reproductive success. All plants tagged with unique identification number and mapped within each plot. For H. fendleri inflorescences with mouldy fruits, counted seeds where possible but excluded from seeds per fruit and seeds per plant analysis when too difficult to determine.
   Quantities: All tagged plants monitored for fruit and seed productionDuration: Throughout fruiting season as fruits matured

Typical Equipment

• camel hair paintbrush
• forceps
• oil-based paint pen
• bridal veil bags
• analytical balance

Output Measurements

• fruit set
• seed production
• seeds per fruit
• seed mass

Papers Using This Protocol (37)

Species Studied With This Protocol