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Creating new weeds: Do stingless bees disperse Corymbia torelliana hybrids?
Conference presentation

Creating new weeds: Do stingless bees disperse Corymbia torelliana hybrids?

Helen M Wallace
2012 University Research Conference Program Book, p.14
USC Research Conference, 2012 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 09-Jul-2012–13-Jul-2012)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2012
url
https://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Plant Biology Zoology Corymbia torelliana hybrids stingless bees
New weeds can evolve rapidly through hybridisation, where hybridisation confers new characteristics on plants that allow them to colonize new habitats. Corymbia torelliana is a declared weed with an unusual mechanism for long distance dispersal. The seeds of C. torelliana are dispersed by stingless bees. Corymbia torelliana readily hybridizes with other Corymbia species and many hybrids have been created as part of a forestry breeding program. We investigated whether the hybrids of this species also have characteristics that would allow them to be dispersed by bees. We found some hybrids are attractive to bees and all hybrids contain resin in their capsules. C. torelliana has a suite of internal and external capsule characters that enable bee dispersal. Overall, 8% of all hybrids had the appropriate internal capsule structure that would allow bee dispersal. These capsules were hollow and bees could enter and forage inside but the capsules did not attract stingless bees. Seed from the hybrid trees that attracted bees was heavier than that of C. torelliana. We also found that Corymbia hybrids inherit a variable chemical profile compared with their C. torelliana parent. Resin profiles that are more similar to C. torelliana are likely to be associated with bee visits, and hybrids that are unattractive to bees have less monterpenes overall. Our results show a small proportion of the hybrids will inherit the complete set of characters that enable bee dispersal from their C. torelliana parent. Therefore large scale plantings of C. torelliana could contain a small proportion of trees that pose a risk of becoming an invasive weed.

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