Book Description
The evolution of angiosperms made a paradigm shift in the biology and ecology of animals that lived at that time (Bascompte and Jordano 2007, Bronstein et al. 2006, Endress 2011, Regal 1977, Willmer 2011). The herbivory radiated to various levels, and new traits and taxa evolved once the flowers with pollen grains, nectar, and fleshy fruits evolved (Herre et al. 1996, Mitchell et al. 2009a, Ramos and Schiestl 2019, Strauss and Irwin 2004). In insects, pollen and nectar collecting behavioural and morphological traits and digestive system have been evolved. While many insects used these plant resources as alternate food, many lived only at the cost of pollen and nectar. As a result, plants started relying on animals for dispersing their pollen grains and seeds, and made them an inevitable and reliable mutualistic partner in their reproductive biology. Likewise, many animals have been evolved to use protein and carbohydrates of flower origin. Plant-pollinator and plant-frugivores interactions, thus grew-up as two strong mutualistic interactions between plants and animals. Man depends on these interactions, in particular the plant-pollinator interaction, extensively in their agricultural systems. Today, pollinators have a value of several trillions of rupees or dollars (Potts et al. 2016), particularly for the countries that have an agricultural economy (Gallai et al. 2009).
