AI helps uncover ancient origin stories of flower colors

A new study led by experts at Monash University uses computer simulations to uncover an ancient link between bees and the evolution of flower color. This research Proceedings of the Royal Society Bsimulated landscapes of the first flowering plants tens of millions of years ago and tested their visibility to pollinators such as bees and birds.

Alan Dolin, lead author and NativeBee+Tech Facility Director, Associate Professor in the School of Information Engineering, explains that insects such as bees develop vision long before their first flower blooms, allowing them to fly around and explore rocks, leaves, branches, and bark. He said he could position himself between. .

“Our findings demonstrate that the first flowers evolved more dazzling colors to distinguish them from their dull background to attract ancient pollinators,” Dolin said. said.

To test whether honey bees have evolved to view their current environment in the same way that their ancestors viewed their current environment, researchers tested honey bees against a simulated prehistoric environment. tested their color perception.

“Given that Australia is a geologically ancient continent, we used color spectral measurements of Australian bushland from Cairns to the southern tip of Victoria to estimate the age of 252 million to 66 years. “We simulated the landscape as it would have been around the time the first flowers evolved during the Mesozoic Era, a million years ago,” Dorin explained.

Associate Professor Adrian Dyer, a vision scientist and co-author of the study in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, said the strong link shows how visual perception in ancient pollinators and today’s bees are linked. He said it was shown for the first time. It led to the evolution of flower colors.

“We now know that bees, like their ancestors, have ultraviolet (UV), blue and green photoreceptors. This is why some modern flowers respond to things that bees can easily perceive. “This explains why they have frequently evolved common colors like yellow in flower petals,” Dyer said.

The results of this research will help us understand how plant species are pollinated in modern times, advancing smart agriculture research and unlocking the potential for further research in the field of efficient crop pollination. I will.