P6

Trade-offs between pollinator attraction and florivore repellence in Tanacetum vulgare

Floral volatiles occur in remarkable chemodiversity and attract insects over great distances, advertising nutritious nectar and pollen as reward for flower visitors. In addition to mutualistic pollinating visitors, floral volatiles may, however, also attract antagonistic florivores, leading to a trade-off. Tanacetum vulgare expresses chemotypes with distinct terpenoid composition in leaves and flowers. While leaf herbivores prefer specific T. vulgare chemotypes, little is known about chemotype-specific preferences of flower visitors. Flowers of T. vulgare depend on insect pollinators, but concurrently florivores feed on pollen and unripe seeds. With this project we aim to investigate potential trade-offs in floral volatiles which should attract pollinators but repel florivores. Furthermore, we will investigate chemotype-specific patterns of floral volatiles and metabolites in dependence of flower age and pollination status.