Pollination syndrome trait scoring and NMDS ordination

Knowledge graph centered on Pollination syndrome trait scoring and NMDS ordination with 20 nodes and 73 connections. Top connected: A global test of the pollination syndrome hypothes, Hummingbird, Asteraceae, small mammals, pollinator foraging behavior.

Method synopsis

A method for quantifying floral trait combinations and comparing them to idealized pollination syndromes using multidimensional scaling in phenotype space. Plant species are scored for 41 binary traits and positioned relative to idealized syndrome clusters.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure as described in the canonical source

Steps below were extracted from the paper that introduces this protocol — A global test of the pollination syndrome hypothesis (2009), Annals of Botany. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Floral trait characterization
   Each syndrome is characterized by timing of anthesis, presence and qualities of floral scent and nectar, and aspects of flower colour, size and morphology. From the syndrome descriptions, 41 floral traits were identified in 13 broad categories. These were used to score flowers in communities, as well as the idealized syndrome descriptions, for the presence (scored as 1) or absence (scored as 0) of each trait manifestation at each plant species.
   Quantities: 41 floral traits in 13 broad categories scored for each plant species; 537 total vectors across ten syndromes generatedDuration: Not specifiedConditions: During flowering period of each species
2. NMDS ordination of syndrome space
   Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) in PC-ORD 5.14 was used to ordinate the 537 vectors described above. A stable run of the NMDS analyses first assigned random starting coordinates for the 537 idealized trait combinations in an ordination space of three dimensions, calculated Euclidean distances among the coordinates and compared the resulting distance matrix with distance relationships in the original trait space. The coordinates were moved along gradients of decreasing stress within the 3-D space until a local minimum was achieved.
   Quantities: 537 vectors in three dimensions, 500 ordinations of randomized data for comparison, stress typically declined from one to three dimensionsDuration: 500 runs of real data with a Monte Carlo test with 500 ordinationsConditions: Computational analysis
   Equipment: PC-ORD 5.14 software
3. Species assignment to syndromes

Typical Equipment

• PC-ORD 5.14 software

Output Measurements

• syndrome assignment
• distance to nearest syndrome
• phenotype space coordinates

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol