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Handwriting is widely used by Chinese older adults for text input on touch screens, but their handwriting performance is relatively low in comparison to younger adults. Therefore, this study investigated how the size of the input box (15%, 30%, and 45% of the display), input method (fingers and stylus), display size (4.7 inches and 7.9 inches), and age (younger adults and older adults) influence Chinese handwriting performance and user experience. An experiment was conducted among 72 participants. A system was developed to automatically record the time of handwriting, the accuracy of handwriting, the number of protruding strokes, the number of rewritings. Besides, participants' satisfaction, preferences, and mental workload were measured through questionnaires. The results revealed significant effects of the size of the input box, age, input method, and display size on the performance indexes and subjective ratings. Accordingly, 12 design implications for improving the Chinese handwriting system were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media technology is continuing its transition from passive streaming to participatory interactive experiences, including well‐known applications such as web browsing, video conferencing and gaming, as well as emerging and more demanding uses like AR/MR/VR and esports. How should display traits such as latency, refresh rate and size change to meet this trend? We review recent studies from NVIDIA Research and others on requirements for esports as the cutting edge of this trend toward interactivity, and discuss the studies' implications for other interactive applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size of the display used for endoscopic surgery has been increasing recently, but the effect of the display size on procedure outcomes is unclear. The present study clarified the effect of display size on the outcomes of endoscopic surgical procedures. Eight pediatric surgeons performed the laparoscopic fundoplication task using a disease-specific laparoscopic simulator with 3 different display sizes (43, 32, and 24 inches). The movement of the forceps during the task was measured using an electromagnetic spatial three-dimensional position-measuring instrument. The movements of the eyes and head during the task were also measured using glasses-style smart eyewear. We assessed the time required to complete the task, total path length of forceps, average velocity of forceps, number of blinks, number and strength of eye movements, and head tilt of participants during the task. There were no significant differences in the required time, total path length, average velocity, number of blinks, number and strength of eye movements, or head tilt among the three display sizes. After the task, participants were asked which display felt the easiest to use. Four participants (50%) answered that the 32-inch display was easiest to use. This study showed that display size differences did not influence endoscopic surgical procedures. However, 50% of participants felt that the task was easiest using the middle display size. There may be an optimal monitor size for a given procedure. Level II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To evaluate the change of accommodation and ocular discomfort according to the display size, using quantitative measurements of accommodation and ocular discomfort through subjective and objective metrics. Methods Forty six subjects without any ophthalmic disease history were asked to watch the documentary movie, using two different sizes of smart devices; smartphones and tablets. Before and after using devices, the near point accommodation (NPA) and the near point convergence (NPC) were measured, and objective accommodation was measured using an auto refractometer/keratometer. The subjective ocular discomfort was assessed through a survey. Results Both devices showed a decrease in post-use NPA and NPC, and the change after use of the smartphone was significantly severe, 1.8 and 2.5 folds respectively, compared to tablet (p = 0.044, p = 0.033, respectively). Neither smartphone nor tablet showed significant changes in the accommodative response induced by dynamic accommodative stimulus of auto refractometer/keratometer (p = 0.240 and p = 0.199, respectively). Subjects showed a more severe increase in ocular discomfort after using smartphones (p = 0.035) and reported feeling tired even with shorter use times (p = 0.012). Conclusions Both devices showed significant decreases in NPA and NPC, and the larger changes were seen when using the small display smartphone. Even within 20minutes of using, subjects start to feel ocular discomfort, and it was more severe and faster after smartphones than tablets. Therefore, the smaller the display size, the greater the adverse impact on eyes, and thus, appropriate display size will need to be selected depending on the time and purpose of use.

Introduction: In-line positioning of an ultrasound image provides higher success rates and less time to completion for radial arterial cannulation. But preferable size and distance of ultrasound display has not been previously discussed. Objective: To assess the ideal visual distance and display size when using a smart phone or tablet as the ultrasound image display. Methods: Four smart phones or tablets were used as ultrasound displays in six different configurations in a simulated radial artery puncture. In a questionnaire, 116 anaesthesiologists working in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, were asked which of the six configurations was preferable for radial artery cannulation. Results: Sixty anaesthesiologists answered the questionnaire. About half (53%) preferred the smaller display (4- or 5.5-inch) fixed at a distance of 30 to 40 cm, and most of the rest (44%) preferred the larger display (7.9- or 9.7-inch) placed posterior to the probe with a visual distance of 45 to 60 cm. Conclusions: Among the anaesthesiologists, the preferable size and visual distance for ultrasound-guided radial artery cannulation varied using a smart phone or tablet for in-line display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the change of accommodation and ocular discomfort according to the display size, using quantitative measurements of accommodation and ocular discomfort through subjective and objective metrics.Methods: Forty six subjects without any ophthalmic disease history were asked to watch the documentary movie, using two different sizes of smart devices; smartphones and tablets. Before and after using devices, the near point accommodation (NPA) and the near point convergence (NPC) were measured, and objective accommodation was measured using an auto refractometer/keratometer. The subjective ocular discomfort was assessed through a survey.Results: Both devices showed a decrease in post-use NPA and NPC, and the change after use of the smartphone was significantly severe, 1.8 and 2.5 folds respectively, compared to tablet (p = 0.044, p = 0.033, respectively). Neither smartphone nor tablet showed significant changes in the accommodative response induced by dynamic accommodative stimulus of auto refractometer/keratometer (p = 0.240 and p = 0.199, respectively). Subjects showed a more severe increase in ocular discomfort after using smartphones (p = 0.035) and reported feeling tired even with shorter use times (p = 0.012).Conclusions: Both devices showed significant decreases in NPA and NPC, and the larger changes were seen when using the small display smartphone. Even within 20minutes of using, subjects start to feel ocular discomfort, and it was more severe and faster after smartphones than tablets. Therefore, the smaller the display size, the greater the adverse impact on eyes, and thus, appropriate display size will need to be selected depending on the time and purpose of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to expand the current demonstration of display size effects from pointing tasks to dragging and tap‐typing tasks to investigate the effects of influential factors on the performance of touchscreen tablets. From 7‐ to 11‐in. displays, the index of difficulty was kept constant by increasing the target amplitudes and widths (6.0–9.5 mm) proportionally, and the key spacing were, respectively, 13.5 × 7.3–21.5 × 11.5 mm with 0‐mm key gaps. The results demonstrated that simple task types (complexities) reinforced the display size effects and that the effects interacted with target sizes (including amplitude/width scaling) and key spacing to reflect increasing efficiency and usability with increasing sizes. Gender effects were only significant in subjective assessments. Display sizes approaching 10 in., target sizes not less than 7 mm (optimal 9–10 mm) and key spacing larger than 17.5 mm induced the effects of motor scale (the scale of the upper limb joint coordination) and interacted with one another to result in the optimal performance and usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary biologists have long sought to understand the ecological processes that generate plant reproductive diversity. Recent evidence indicates that constitutive antiherbivore defences can alter natural selection on reproductive traits, but it is unclear whether induced defences will have the same effect and whether reduced foliar damage in defended plants is the cause of this pattern. In a factorial field experiment using common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L., we induced plant defences using jasmonic acid ( JA) and imposed foliar damage using scissors. We found that JA-induced plants experienced selection for more inflorescences that were smaller in size (fewer flowers), whereas control plants only experienced a trend towards selection for larger inflorescences (more flowers); all effects were independent of foliar damage. Our results demonstrate that induced defences can alter both the strength and direction of selection on reproductive traits, and suggest that antiherbivore defences may promote the evolution of plant reproductive diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presented two experiments on Chinese handwriting performance (time, accuracy, the number of protruding strokes and number of rewritings) and subjective ratings (mental workload, satisfaction, and preference) on mobile devices. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of size of the input box, input method and display size on Chinese handwriting performance and preference. It was indicated that the optimal input sizes were 30.8 × 30.8 mm, 46.6 × 46.6 mm, 58.9 × 58.9 mm and 84.6 × 84.6 mm for devices with 3.5-inch, 5.5-inch, 7.0-inch and 9.7-inch display sizes, respectively. Experiment 2 proved the significant effects of location of the input box, input method and display size on Chinese handwriting performance and subjective ratings. It was suggested that the optimal location was central regardless of display size and input method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Sexual floral dimorphism may have evolved under pollinator-mediated natural selection by which female and male functions are differently influenced. We hypothesized that mating success is differently influenced by display size between sexes, under which sexual dimorphism in flowering schedule has evolved in dioecious species. METHODS: We examined sexual dimorphism in the total number of flowers per shoot, maximum daily display size, longevity of individual flowers, and flowering synchrony (maximum proportion of open flowers) in three dioecious Ilex species (I. pedunculosa, I. serrata, and I. crenata) whose female flowers are not smaller than male flowers. We compared pollinator response to natural variation of daily display size between sexes. We also examined the effect of display size on female and male success (fruit set and pollen deposition and removal). KEY RESULTS: In the three species, male shoots produced significantly more flowers than female shoots did. Although female flowers lasted longer and opened more synchronously than male flowers, maximum daily display size was larger on male shoots than on female shoots. Fruit set was significantly pollen-limited in the field in all species. Pollen deposition and/or fruit set increased with female display size, whereas pollen removal decreased or was approximately constant with male display size in the three species. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that sexual dimorphism in floral longevity and flowering synchrony might enhance both female and male success in relation to the display size-mating success (pollinator attraction) association irrespective of flower size dimorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Larger inflorescences in reward-producing plants can benefit plants by increasing both pollinator attraction and the duration of visits by individual pollinators. However, ultimately, inflorescence size is determined by the balance between the benefits of large inflorescences and the increased cost of geitonogamy. At present, little is known about the relationship between inflorescence size and fecundity in deceptive plants. Given that pollinators are likely to leave inflorescences lacking rewards quickly, it seems unlikely that longer pollinator visits and the risk of geitonogamy would be strong selective pressures in these species, which indicates that pollinator attraction might be the most important factor influencing their inflorescence size. Here we examined the pollination ecology of the deceptive orchid Cephalanthera falcata in order to clarify the effects of inflorescence size on the fruit set of this non-rewarding species. Field observations of the floral visitors showed that C. falcata is pollinated by the andrenid bee Andrena aburana, whilst pollination experiments demonstrated that this orchid species is neither autogamous nor apogamous, but is strongly pollinator dependent. Three consecutive years of field observations revealed that fruit set was positively correlated with the number of flowers per inflorescence. These results provide strong evidence that the nectarless orchid C. falcata benefits from producing larger inflorescences that attract a greater number of innate pollinators. Large inflorescences may have a greater positive effect on fruit set in deceptive plants because a growing number of studies suggest that fruit set in reward-producing plants is usually unaffected by display size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With aging visual feedback becomes increasingly relevant in action control. Consequently, visual device and task characteristics should more and more affect tool use. Focussing on late working age, the present study aims to investigate age-related differences in processing task irrelevant (display size) and task relevant visual information (task difficulty). Young and middle-aged participants (20–35 and 36–64 years of age, respectively) sat in front of a touch screen with differently sized active touch areas (4″ to 12″) and performed pointing tasks with differing task difficulties (1.8–5 bits). Both display size and age affected pointing performance, but the two variables did not interact and aiming duration moderated both effects. Furthermore, task difficulty affected the pointing durations of middle-aged adults moreso than those of young adults. Again, aiming duration accounted for the variance in the data. The onset of an age-related decline in aiming duration can be clearly located in middle adulthood. Thus, the fine psychomotor ability “aiming” is a moderator and predictor for age-related differences in pointing tasks. The results support a user-specific design for small technical devices with touch interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the systematic effects of display size on task performance as derived from a standard perceptual and cognitive test battery. Specifically, three experiments examined the influence of varying viewing conditions on response speed, response accuracy and subjective workload at four differing screen sizes under three different levels of time pressure. Results indicated a ubiquitous effect for time pressure on all facets of response while display size effects were contingent upon the nature of the viewing condition. Thus, performance decrement and workload elevation were evident only with the smallest display size under the two most restrictive levels of time pressure. This outcome generates a lower boundary threshold for display screen size for this order of task demand. Extrapolations to the design and implementation of all display sizes and forms of cognitive and psychomotor demand are considered. Practitioner Summary:This work specifies the effect of display size on operator performance. It presents a threshold for an acceptable level of response time and accuracy contingent upon time pressure imposed and display size presented. The procedure provides vital information for all future designers and users of displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance in a computerized 'mental rotation' task was measured in groups of males and females while they rotated Shepard-Metzler-like cube assemblies on either a standard laptop screen (size = 36 cm) or on a large display wall (584 cm) where the stimuli appeared at considerably larger sizes and within a much wider field of view than that typically used in most spatial tasks. Males and females did not differ significantly in performance in the standard size condition with regards to response time but females performed faster than males in the large display condition. Males were also found to be significantly more accurate than females, regardless of display. We found no sign of trading accuracy for speed for either of the sexes or screen size conditions. We surmise that such an effect may be due to differences in task-solving strategies between the sexes, where a holistic strategy - which may be preferred by males is negatively affected by large object sizes, whereas a piecemeal approach, that may be preferred by females, is virtually unaffected by display size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fragrance is a putatively important character in the evolution of flowering plants, but natural selection on scent is rarely studied and thus poorly understood. We characterized floral scent composition and emission in a common garden of Penstemon digitalis from three nearby source populations., We measured phenotypic selection on scent as well as floral traits more frequently examined, such as floral phenology, display size, corolla pigment, and inflorescence height., Scent differed among populations in a common garden, underscoring the potential for scent to be shaped by differential selection pressures. Phenotypic selection on flower number and display size was strong. However, selection favoured scent rather than flower size or colour, suggesting that smelling stronger benefits reproductive success in P. digitalis. Linalool was a direct target of selection and its high frequency in floral-scent bouquets suggests that further studies of both pollinator- and antagonist-mediated selection on this compound would further our understanding of scent evolution., Our results indicate that chemical dimensions of floral display are just as likely as other components to experience selective pressure in a nonspecialized flowering herb. Therefore, studies that integrate visual and chemical floral traits should better reflect the true nature of floral evolutionary ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Effects of display size and dual display setting on preferred display and keyboard positions were evaluated.Background: User-preferred display position may vary as its size changes or when multiple displays are used. It is also not known whether the use of larger displays or multiple displays would influence positioning of the keyboard.Method: Participants (N = 19) who had normal visual acuity (20/30 or better) determined preferred positions of the display and the keyboard during a data entry task in four display setups (19, 24, 27.5, and dual 19 in.). The size of capital characters (3.2 mm high) was kept consistent between setups.Results: Preferred viewing distance ranged from 0.68 m (19-in. display) to 0.76 m (27.5-in. display). No significant differences in viewing distance and display height were found between the single 19-in. display and dual 19-in. displays setups. The preferred position of the keyboard was consistent between display setups.Conclusion: Participants placed larger displays farther and lower while maintaining the display top at or near eye height. Preferred position of the dual displays in landscape setting did not differ from that of a single display. It appears that the preferred display position varies with the vertical dimension of the overall viewable area of the display.Application: The results of this study can be used to determine the dimensions or adjustability of computer workstations for larger displays or multiple displays settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimedia content adaptation has become important due to many devices with different amounts of resources like display sizes, memories, and computation capabilities. Existing studies perform content adaptation on web pages and other media files that have the same start times and durations. In this paper, we present a content adaptation method for multimedia presentations constituting media files with different start times and durations. We perform adaptation based on preferences and temporal constraints specified by authors and generate an order of importance among media files. Our method can automatically generate layouts by computing the locations, start times, and durations of the media files. We compare three solutions to generate layouts: 1) exhaustive search, 2) dynamic programming, and 3) greedy algorithms. We analyze the presentations by varying screen resolutions, media files, preferences, and temporal constraints. Our analysis shows that screen utilizations are 92%, 85%, and 80% for the three methods, respectively. The time to generate layouts for a presentation with 100 media files is 1200, 17, and 10 s, respectively, for the three methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Several species of glaphyrid (Scarabaeoidea: Glaphyridae) beetles forage and mate on Mediterranean red bowl-shaped flowers. In red anemones and poppies in Israel, female beetles occupy only a subset of the flowers, do not aggregate, and are hidden below the petals. This raises the question of how males find their mates. In the present study, we investigated the hypothesis that males and females orient to similar plant-generated cues, thereby increasing their mate encounter prospects. Previous studies have demonstrated that beetle attraction to red models increases with display area. Choice tests with flowers and with models indicate that both male and female beetles prefer large displays. In anemones, beetles rest, feed, and mate mainly on male-phase flowers, which are larger than female-phase flowers. Poppies that contain beetles are larger than the population average. These findings support the hypothesis that males and females meet by orienting to large red displays. Corolla size correlates with pollen reward in both plant species, suggesting that visits to large flowers also yield foraging benefits. Male beetles often jump rapidly among adjacent flowers. By contrast to the preference for large flowers by stationary individuals, these jump sequences are random with respect to flower sex-phase (in anemone) and size (in poppy). They may enable males to detect females at close range. We hypothesize that males employ a mixed mate-searching strategy, combining orientation to floral signals and to female-produced cues. The glaphyrids' preference for large flowers may have selected for extraordinarily large displays within the ‘red anemone’ pollination guild of the Levant. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 99, 808–817. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite technological advances, digitizing is still used for digital data creation. Although users work with large, high-resolution data sets, their workspace is often limited to a small, one-monitor viewing window. A low-cost upgrade is to build a multiple-monitor display. Multiple-monitor displays provide an increase in size and resolution, allowing concurrent access to greater context and detail, which may be particularly helpful for digitizing. To investigate the possible benefits of digitizing on multiple-monitor displays, the authors asked 57 participants to perform a map-reading test that included vector and raster target digitizing tasks. Participants took the test on one of three displays: one, four, or nine monitors. The testing program stored participants’ digitized shape files and the viewing area used for digitizing. Although participants were more efficient on the larger displays for other tasks, no statistically significant differences were found for the vector or raster digitizing tasks among display configurations, using goodness-of-fit and shape metrics to compare results. However, larger displays still potentially offer benefits for digitizing. Guideline provision and variability in image interpretation for vector and raster digitizing, respectively, may have been prevailing factors. Additionally, lack of motivation, along with the physical demands and unfamiliarity of large displays, may have hindered the realization of potential benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floral color change has been recognized as a pollination strategy, but its relative effectiveness has been evaluated insufficiently with respect to other floral traits. In this study, effects of floral color change on the visitation pattern of bumblebees were empirically assessed using artificial flowers. Four inflorescence types were postulated as strategies of flowering behavior: type 1 has no retention of old flowers, resulting in a small display size; type 2 retains old flowers without nectar production; type 3 retains old flowers with nectar; and type 4 retains color-changed old flowers without nectar. Effects of these treatments varied depending on both the total display size (single versus multiple inflorescences) and the pattern of flower-opening. In the single inflorescence experiment, a large floral display due to the retention of old flowers (types 2–4) enhanced pollinator attraction, and the number of flower visits per stay decreased with color change (type 4), suggesting a decrease in geitonogamous pollination. Type-4 plants also reduced the foraging time of bees in comparison with type-2 plants. In the multiple inflorescence experiment, the retention of old flowers did not contribute to pollinator attraction. When flowering occurred sequentially within inflorescences, type-4 plants successfully decreased the number of visits and the foraging time in comparison with type-2 plants. In contrast, floral color change did not influence the number of visits, and it extended the foraging time when flowering occurred simultaneously within inflorescences but the opening of inflorescences progressed sequentially within a plant. Therefore, the effectiveness of floral color change is highly susceptible to the display size and flowering pattern within plants, and this may limit the versatility of the color change strategy in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Animal-pollinated plants influence their mating success through characteristics of their individual flowers and the arrangement of flowers into inflorescences. Previous studies of inflorescence function have focused on flower number, so the influences of traits of individual flowers on pollinator attraction and self-pollination between flowers remain unknown. 2. To investigate the effects of flower size and number on pollinator attraction and behaviour on inflorescences, we reduced the perianth size of flowers of Delphinium bicolor Nuttall and Delphinium glaucum S. Watson. 3. Reduction in flower size decreased the number of visits per inflorescence by bumble bees ( Bombus spp.), but increased the number of probes per visit. In contrast, both attraction and probes per visit increased in a decelerating manner with number of open flowers. The average number of probes per flower, which combines the effects of pollinator attraction and behaviour on inflorescences, did not differ significantly between small- and large-flowered plants, or with flower number. 4. The absence of significant variation among plants with different floral and inflorescence characteristics in visits per flower and nectar standing crop per flower indicate that bees achieved an ideal free distribution. 5. Our results suggest that large flowers reduce the incidence of geitonogamous pollination without reducing the frequency of probes per flower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Honeybees foraging on lavender have been shown to choose inflorescences that are larger and have more flowers. If they are selecting optimally then these inflorescences should yield higher net rates of energy gain. The number and distribution of flowers within inflorescences is a complex function of age, however, which might itself influence nectar quality and availability. 2. Sampling of the overnight nectar secretion of visited and unvisited inflorescences showed that younger inflorescences with more flowers produced more sugar per flower and had fewer unproductive flowers than other inflorescences, but the size of the inflorescence had no effects. 3. Overall display size attracted bees to inspect inflorescences, as inflorescences that were inspected but rejected were larger and/or had larger or more bracts than those that were ignored. Bees, however, accepted more productive inflorescences based on different cues: inflorescence age and number of flowers. 4. Inflorescence choice thus appeared to reflect a two-stage decision process based on different morphological criteria at each stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The effect of floral display size (number of open flowers per plant) on subsequent plant choice by bumble bees, Bombus hypocrita sapporensis (Cockerell), was investigated using artificial inflorescences with blue or yellow flowers representing different ‘species’. 2. Bees flew to an inflorescence of the same colour (constant flight) more often after visiting a large inflorescence. This response occurred when the nectar volume per flower was constant (larger inflorescence offered more nectar), and when nectar volume per inflorescence was constant (nectar volume per flower varied with display size). These results indicate that bees did not exhibit higher constancy after visiting larger inflorescences because they extracted more nectar than from smaller ones. 3. Bees spent more time during visits to large vs small inflorescences. Possibly information about the last-visited inflorescence fades from short-term memory during longer visits, which strengthens colour constancy. 4. Selection on floral display size is thought to balance the attraction benefits of large displays with the cost of geitonogamy. However, in habitats with several competing plant species, selection for colour constancy may provide a further reason for selection to favour large floral displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fruiting phenology and fruit removal patterns of Rhus trichocarpa Miq. ( Anacardiaceae) were investigated in a warm-temperate secondary forest in Japan. Mature fruits of this species are dispersed by birds. Effects of fruit display size and canopy openness on fruit removal were investigated in years with different fruit densities ( i.e., masting and non-masting years). Moreover, effects of increased canopy openness during winter on fruit removal were also investigated. Seasonal patterns of fruit removal were quite different between masting and non- masting years. In the non-mast year, fruits were removed by birds soon after maturation in the summer. In contrast, in the mast year, fruits were removed gradually by birds from summer to winter. Moreover, the rate of fruit removal was greater for trees with a larger display size in the non-mast year, whereas that was greater for trees with greater canopy openness in the mast year. Canopy openness increased in winter, and fruit removal in winter was enhanced in trees with a more open canopy only in the non-mast year. These observations strongly suggest that avian dispersers became satiated in the mast year, whereas fruit removal was enhanced in the non-mast year. In the mast year, although many fruits were not dispersed until winter, they were neither depredated nor rotten, and the long period of fruit removal by birds may have enhanced fruit dispersal. The large abundance of seedlings and saplings of this species in Japanese secondary forests suggests that this fruiting strategy is beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 1. We analysed the longevity of individual flowers and the effect on pollination success with respect to floral display size of racemes (number of flowers open at one time) for the sequentially blooming plant Narthecium asiaticum (Liliaceae). The longevity of lower- and middle-positioned flowers (about 7 days in 1998 and 6 days in 1999) was much greater than the length of time required for the completion of male (about 3 days) and female (within 3 days) functions. 2. We suggest that such prolonged longevity benefits the plant in terms of pollinator attraction, because prolonged longevity in lower and middle flowers leads to large display sizes of racemes. Increased display size would not have resulted in an increase of geitonogamy in this species, because most pollinators left racemes after probing only one flower. Rather, large displays attracted more pollinators and increased pollen dispersal from individual flowers. 3. The longevity of upper-positioned flowers (about 4 days in 1998 and 3 days in 1999) was less than that of lower- and middle-positioned flowers – almost the same as the length of time required for the completion of male and female functions. This difference is possibly because upper flowers open later within racemes: if there were no subsequent flowers, prolonged floral longevity would not benefit the plants and would only consume resources used to maintain the flower. 4. Floral longevity within inflorescence should be understood in relation to the effects of floral display size and floral positions, in addition to the accrual rates of male and female functions and the maintenance cost of individual flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]