E. Vojtkó et al. (2015) Acta Biologica Hungarica

E. Vojtkó A., Sonkoly J., Lukács B. A. & Molnár V. A. (2015): Factors affecting reproductive success in three entomophilous orchid species in Hungary. Acta Biologica Hungarica 66(2): 231–241.

Abstract
The reproductive success of orchids is traditionally estimated by determining the fruit-set of individuals. Here, we investigated both the fruit and the seed production of three orchid species and the factors that may affect individual fruit-set, like pollination strategy, individual traits or the annual amount of precipitation. The species (Dactylorhiza sambucina (L.) Soó, Dactylorhiza majalis (Rchb.) P. F. Hunt & Summerhayes and Platanthera bifolia (L.) L. C. M. Richard) were studied in three consecutive years (2010–2012) in the Bükk Mountains, Hungary. All the three species were proved to be non-autogamous by a bagging experiment. Data analyses showed significant differences between seed numbers but not between fruit-sets of species. There was no statistical difference in individual reproductive success between wet and dry years however, the effect of the annual amount of precipitation is significant on the population level. Comparison of published fruit-set data revealed accordance with our results in P. bifolia, but not in D. sambucina and D. majalis. We assume that the surprisingly high fruit-set values of the two Dactylorhiza species may be due to the fact that the pollination crisis reported from Western European countries may not be an actual problem in the Bükk Mountains, Hungary.

Keywords
Dactylorhiza majalis, Dactylorhiza sambucina, fruit-set, Platanthera bifolia, pollination crisis

Molnár V. et al. (2015) Applied Ecology and Environmental Research

Molnár V. A., Löki V., Takács A., Schmidt J., Tökölyi J., Bódis J. & Sramkó G. (2015): No evidence for historical declines in pollination success in Hungarian orchids. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 13(4): 1097–1183.

Abstract
Pollination crisis (the decline of pollinator populations) is a global phenomenon which threatens biodiversity, human welfare and economy. The degree to which different plant populations/species are affected by pollination crisis is still unclear. In this study, long-term herbarium dataset was used to quantify the reproduction rate of Hungarian orchids between 1853 and 2008. We quantified fruit-set rate of 663 specimens belonging to 27 species. Data were available from an average of 10.3±9.3 localities, 76.5±43.2 years, and 23.4±25.6 specimens per species. Herbarium data were validated with field-observed data in case of the different pollination strategies. According to our results, the reproductive success of the vast majority of orchid species has not changed during time and pollination crisis is not apparent in Hungary at least until the end of the 20th century.

Keywords
herbaria, natural history collections, Orchidaceae, pollination crisis, pollination mode

Biró et al. (2015) Applied Ecology and Environmental Research

Biró É., Bódis J., Nagy T., Tökölyi J., Molnár V. A. (2015): Honeybee (Apis mellifera) mediated increased reproductive success of a rare deceptive orchid. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 13(1): 181-192. DOI: 10.15666/aeer/1301_181192

Abstract
Honeybees are the most numerous and significant among insect pollinators, but despite their significance their potential role in increasing the reproductive success of threatened European orchids remains largely unexplored. In this study we aim to evaluate the effect of apiary proximity on the fructification rate of the rare and endangered Adriatic Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann). To do so, first we quantified the reproductive success (fruit set) of the Adriatic Lizard Orchids in a Hungarian population in close proximity to a honeybee apiary at Nagytevel. Then we compared the reproductive success in this population to the reproductive success in 3 other Hungarian, 4 Croatian populations (observed during the same year, 2013) and further 4 populations from Hungary (studied in previous years, 1992–2011) with no apiaries in the close proximity of these. The realised 61.7 % fruit set at Nagytevel is the highest reproductive success ever recorded for this species. The importance of apiaries is further emphasised by the fact that the reproductive success of Lizard Orchid individuals decreased significantly with increasing distance from the apiary. Our results provide empirical support for the conservation importance of apiculture and suggests promising results for practical application of apiaries in the conservation of of deceptively pollinated orchids characterised by lower fruit set (e.g. Orchis, Anacamptis, Himantoglossum).

Keywords
apiculture, fruit set, Himantoglossum adriaticum, pollination crisis, Orchidaceae