page_title: Frequency-dependent foraging by pollinators
section_title: Experimental evidence
hierarchical_section_title: Frequency-dependent foraging by pollinators / Experimental evidence
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Westliche Honigbiene auf Blüte English: Western honey bee on a flower
context_page_description: Frequency-dependent foraging is defined as the tendency of an individual to selectively forage on a certain species or morph based on its relative frequency within a population. Specifically for pollinators, this refers to the tendency to visit a particular floral morph or plant species based on its frequency within the local plant community, even if nectar rewards are equivalent amongst different morphs. Pollinators that forage in a frequency-dependent manner will exhibit flower constancy for a certain morph, but the preferred floral type will be dependent on its frequency. Additionally, frequency-dependent foraging differs from density-dependent foraging as the latter considers the absolute number of certain morphs per unit area as a factor influencing pollinator choice. Although density of a morph will be related to its frequency, common morphs are still preferred when overall plant densities are high.
context_section_description: Researchers studying frequency-dependent visitation behavior seek to understand if pollinator preference is strong enough to induce fixation of traits or to maintain floral polymorphisms observed in natural populations. Laboratory experiments use artificial flowers to test how pollinator preference varies with frequency. Typical experiments use two or more colored discs or artificial flowers (to represent flower morphs) that are arranged in various patterns and frequencies. It is predicted that if pollinators do not exhibit frequency-dependent foraging, morph preference will not correlate with the relative frequency of that morph. Instead, this preference may depend on some frequency-independent quality, such as an innate attraction toward a certain color.
caption: Honeybee on a blue flower.
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