Riley Thomas, “Do Floral Vibrations Enhance Pollen Germination in Shooting Star?”
Mentor: Jeff Karron, Biological Sciences
Poster #174

Bees collect pollen from shooting star flowers by vibrating the anthers, causing pollen to be released and accumulated onto the underside of the bee. As the bee moves and forages among the population some of this pollen is then deposited onto other flowers. I tested my hypothesis that bee vibrations drive pollen between the stigmatic papillae, ultimately enhancing pollination success and seed production. I used two experimental treatments: 1) Application of pollen to the surface of the stigmatic papillae. 2) Vibration of the flower to force pollen deep into crevices amongst the stigmatic papillae. I then contrasted seed production following these two pollination experiments to test the significance of treatment 2, additional vibration, in successful pollination of shooting star flowers. I expect there to be little to no noticeable difference between the seed production of both treatments.