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POINT OF NO RETURN. "The onset of sexual reproduction has been hypothesized to be the point of no return in the ontogenetic sequence of any living organism." This is defied by Turritopsis nitricula. http://www.biolbull.org/content/190/3/302.full.pdf View in LinkedIn

FAKE SEX PHEROMONE. "The “sexually deceptive” orchid Chiloglottis trapeziformis attracts males of its pollinator species, the thynnine wasp Neozeleboria cryptoides, by emitting a unique volatile compound, 2-ethyl-5-propylcyclohexan-1,3-dione, which is also produced by female wasps as a male-attracting sex pheromone." https://lnkd.in/d3KgzuJ View in LinkedIn

ONTOGENY REVERSAL. "All stages of the medusa Turritopsis nutricula, from newly liberated to fully mature individuals, can transform back into colonial hydroids, either directly or through a resting period, thus escaping death and achieving potential immortality. This is the first metazoan known to revert to colonial hydroids, either directly or through a resting period, thus escaping death and achieving potential immortality." http://www.biolbull.org/content/190/3/302.full.pdf View in LinkedIn

Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers. Unfathomable. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/04/trump-administration-lifts-ban-on-pesticides-linked-to-declining-bee-numbers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

COMPLEX BOQUET. "We identified more than 100 compounds in the odor bouquets of labellum extracts from O. sphegodes; 24 compounds were found to be biologically active in male olfactory receptors...analyses of odors from individual flowers showed less intraspecific variation in the odor bouquets of the biologically active compounds as compared to nonactive compounds." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb01243.x/abstract View in LinkedIn

VISUAL AND OLFACTORY CUES. "The orchid Ophrys sphegodes Miller is pollinated by sexually excited males of the solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea, which are lured to the flowers by visual cues and volatile semiochemicals." https://lnkd.in/dnjRu_H View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this second weekend contemplating the curious orchid family. The exacting fieldwork that has gone into teasing out these nuanced features of orchid deceptive reproduction are exemplars of excellent observation skills and hypothesis testing, in often uncomfortable conditions. The results, spread over hundreds of publications, are quite dazzling. The orchid has proved Darwin to be right. They were worth the effort. View in LinkedIn

POLLINATION LIMITED. "We reaffirm that orchids are primarily pollination limited, the severity of which is affected by resource constraints. Fruit set is higher in temperate than in tropical species, and in species which offer pollinator rewards than those that do not. Reproductive success is skewed towards few individuals in a population and effective population sizes are often small." https://lnkd.in/dXXbjhY View in LinkedIn

FAILSAFES. "In the absence of an effective pollinator some orchids use autopollination (10–15%) and very rarely apomixis (asexual propagation). Unlike many other flowering plants, orchids place the pollen on the pollinators in specific microsites to reduce cross pollination between species rather than using chemical inhibition. As a result most orchids are self compatible, with self-incompatibility being rare." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982208001723 View in LinkedIn

THE INBREEDING LINE. "Recent population genetic and phylogenetic investigations suggest gene-flow within subgeneric clades, but pollinator-mediated selection may maintain species-specific floral traits." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y View in LinkedIn