Search

Many bat-pollinated flowers begin their anthesis in the late afternoon, even before sunset, as illustrate by freshly opened Ceiba glaziovii (Malvaceae) flowers against the twilight sky (left panel). We present, for the first time, the spectral reflectance curves of bat-pollinated flowers using as model I Ceiba glaziovii i (Malvaceae), an impressive tree whose crown turns completely white during the reproductive season, and 13 other chiropterophilous species from Caatinga dry forest, Northeastern Brazil. These photographs illustrate the article "Shining bright in the dusk: How do bat-pollinated flowers reflect light?". [Extracted from the article]

In this case, if it is assumed that bats use only L cones and have monochromatic vision in mesopic conditions, flowers would appear brighter to these bats by reflecting light across other wavelengths out of the UV range. Keywords: bat pollination; bat vision; Caatinga dry forest; Ceiba glaziovii; cognitive pollination ecology; floral color; floral signaling; nocturnal pollination; Phyllostomidae; twilight anthesis; ultraviolet; white flowers EN bat pollination bat vision Caatinga dry forest Ceiba glaziovii cognitive pollination ecology floral color floral signaling nocturnal pollination Phyllostomidae twilight anthesis ultraviolet white flowers 1 5 5 09/03/21 20210901 NES 210901 Specialization in nectarivory is an uncommon condition among bats, and it is restricted to two subfamilies of Neotropical phyllostomids (Glossophaginae and Lonchophyllinae), which encompass dozens of bats with striking morpho-physiological adaptations to exploit floral nectar (Muchhala and Tschapka 2020). Shining bright in the dusk: How do bat-pollinated flowers reflect light? Although we cannot predict exactly how bats discriminate floral colors, our findings that many bat-pollinated flowers in the Caatinga are bright white and absorb UV-light lead us to propose two hypotheses (Fig. [Extracted from the article]