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Aerodynamics of wind pollination in a zoophilous flower, Brassica napus

  1. J. E. CRESSWELL1,*,
  2. T. W. DAVIES2,
  3. M. A. PATRICK2,
  4. F. RUSSELL3,
  5. C. PENNEL3,
  6. M. VICOT3,
  7. M. LAHOUBI3

Article first published online: 8 DEC 2004

DOI: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2004.00917.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 18, Issue 6, pages 861–866, December 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

CRESSWELL, J. E., DAVIES, T. W., PATRICK, M. A., RUSSELL, F., PENNEL, C., VICOT, M. and LAHOUBI, M. (2004), Aerodynamics of wind pollination in a zoophilous flower, Brassica napus. Functional Ecology, 18: 861–866. doi: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2004.00917.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK,

  2. 2

    School of Engineering and Computer Science, Harrison Building, University of Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK, and

  3. 3

    Institut Catholique d’Arts et Métiers (ICAM), 6 rue Auber, 59046 Lille Cedex, France

* †Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.e.cresswell@ex.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 8 DEC 2004
  2. Article first published online: 8 DEC 2004
  3. Received 11 February 2004; revised 13 July 2004; accepted 13 July 2004

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Keywords:

  • ambophily;
  • anemophily;
  • computational fluid dynamics;
  • gene flow

Summary

  • 1
    The flower of Brassica napus L. appears to be typically zoophilous (suited to animal pollination) because of its visually attractive petals, robust stigma and nectaries. Pollination by wind is feasible, however, and its likely effectiveness is not immediately foreseeable because of the complexity of interactions between objects and windborne particles.
  • 2
    Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind-tunnel experiments were used to investigate the aerodynamic interactions between the flower and a windborne suspension of its pollen.
  • 3
    The flower's petals handicapped wind pollination by reducing the target efficiency of the upwind-facing stigma. For downwind-facing flowers, pollen reception was negligible.
  • 4
    Several aspects of the plant's architecture (floral structure, pollen cohesiveness, inflorescence structure) are uncompromisingly zoophilous. Estimates of the amount of wind pollination suggest that it is unlikely to be important for the long-distance dispersal of B. napus genes such as those from genetically modified varieties.
  • 5
    This study illustrates how CFD may become a powerful tool in future analyses of wind pollination.
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