Pollination is the biological process by which pollen grains are transferred from the anthers of a flower (or male reproductive structures) to the stigma of a flower (or female receptive structures), enabling fertilization and subsequent seed and fruit development in seed plants. As a reproductive phenomenon, it can occur via abiotic vectors such as wind and water or via biotic agents including insects, birds, and bats. Pollination encompasses both self- and cross-pollination events, and its efficiency and specificity critically influence gene flow, plant fitness, reproductive isolation, and the structure and dynamics of plant–pollinator interaction networks in ecosystems.
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are widely known as essential pollinators, but researchers using a "One Health" approach have also identified them as biological sentinels of environmental health. Honey bees continuously interact ...
Environment
Aug 28, 2026
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Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants, and approximately 10% of flowering plants are functionally specialized for buzz pollination. Buzz pollination is a mechanism in which pollen can be extracted from ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2026
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Although climate change is already having a negative impact on crops, declines in yields have so far been offset by technological advances in agriculture. For field crops that do not rely on pollinators, however, this trend ...
Ecology
Aug 19, 2026
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Yesterday, I woke to a cold, damp Canberra morning—and silence. The trees around my home were empty of feathered silhouettes. Even the usual bright-eyed, warble-voiced magpies were absent.
Plants & Animals
Aug 18, 2026
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Bees may be relying on your lawn for their next meal, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
Plants & Animals
Aug 17, 2026
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Every tomato begins with a flower. But before a fruit can grow, an intricate sequence of events must happen in perfect order. The flower's male and female organs must develop together, pollen must be released at exactly the ...
Biotechnology
Aug 12, 2026
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A recent study by MSU entomologists Jen Roedel, Karma Thomas and Zsofia Szendrei found that urban growers' use of pollinator management practices is driven more by access to educational resources, labor and other farming ...
Ecology
Aug 7, 2026
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The left-right asymmetry of South African butterfly lilies (genus Wachendorfia) has been regarded as a classic evolutionary puzzle for more than a century. Due to the mirror-image arrangement of the floral parts, the plants ...
Evolution
Aug 2, 2026
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40
Scientists have found a genetic switch that could shave years off avocado breeding by allowing researchers to identify one of a young tree's most important traits long before it flowers.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 29, 2026
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A study by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) has highlighted the impact Varroa mites will have on crop pollination in Tasmania if the parasitic mites become established in the state. The study was prompted by the ...
Ecology
Jul 8, 2026
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