Consequences of plant-pollinator and floral-herbivore interactions on the reproductive success of the Canary Islands endemic Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae)

Pollination effectiveness of specialist and opportunistic nectar feeders influenced by invasive alien ants in the Seychelles

PREMISE

Opportunistic nectar-feeders may act as effective pollinators; nonetheless, we still lack information on whether these opportunistic species differ in their pollination effectiveness from specialized nectarivorous vertebrates and insects. Many nectar specialists have coevolved with the plants on which they feed; therefore, we would expect higher pollination effectiveness in specialists than in opportunistic feeders. Here, we assessed quantity and quality components of pollination effectiveness in specialist and opportunistic vertebrate nectarivores and insects, focusing on three plants from the Seychelles: Thespesia populnea, Polyscias crassa, and Syzygium wrightii.

METHODS

We determined the quantity component (QNC) of pollination effectiveness with pollinator observations, and the quality component (QLC) by measuring fruit and seed set resulting from single visits by each pollinator. To detect potential negative effects of invasive ants on native plant-pollinator interactions, we classified pollinator visits (quantity component) as disturbed (>6 ants/30 min) vs. undisturbed.

RESULTS

All focal plants were visited by insects, and vertebrate specialist and opportunist nectarivores, yet their pollination effectiveness differed. Flying insects were the most effective pollinators of T. populnea. The other two plants were most effectively pollinated by vertebrates; i.e., sunbirds (nectar specialists) in S. wrightii and Phelsuma geckos (nectar opportunists) in P. crassa, despite marked variation in QNC and QLC. Ant presence was associated with lower pollinator visitation rate in P. crassa and S. wrightii.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the importance of all pollinator guilds, including opportunist nectarivorous vertebrates as pollinators of island plants, and the vulnerability of such interactions to disruption by nonnative species.

Generalist birds outperform specialist sunbirds as pollinators of an African Aloe

Bird pollination systems are dominated by specialist nectarivores, such as hummingbirds in the Americas and sunbirds in Africa. Opportunistic (generalist) avian nectarivores such as orioles, weavers and bulbuls have also been implicated as plant pollinators, but their effectiveness as agents of pollen transfer is poorly known. Here, we compare the single-visit effectiveness of specialist and opportunistic avian nectarivores as pollinators of Aloe ferox, a plant that relies almost exclusively on birds for seed production. We found that the number of pollen grains on stigmas of flowers receiving single visits by opportunistic avian nectarivores was approximately threefold greater than on those receiving single visits by specialist sunbirds and about twofold greater than on those that received single visits by honeybees. The number of pollen grains on stigmas of flowers visited by sunbirds was similar to that on stigmas of unvisited flowers. These results show that opportunistic birds are highly effective pollinators of A. ferox, supporting the idea that some plants are specialized for pollination by opportunistic birds.

Reproductive success of the Canarian Echium simplex (Boraginaceae) mediated by vertebrates and insects

Oceanic island ecosystems favour the appearance of novel interactions as a consequence of their depauperate and disharmonic flora and fauna. We investigated Echium simplex, endemic to the Anaga Biosphere Reserve in NE Tenerife, Canary Islands, belongs to the Canarian bird-flower element. Along two flowering seasons, we studied the breeding system of E. simplex, identified the floral visitors and compared the pollination effectiveness of different animal guilds (insects versus vertebrates) by means of selective exclosures. E. simplex is self-compatible but selfing significantly reduced fruit set. The flowers were visited by five bird species (mostly Phylloscopus canariensis and Serinus canarius, but also Cyanistes teneriffae, Sylvia atricapilla and Sylvia melanocephala), a lizard species (Gallotia galloti) and over a hundred insect species (mainly hymenopterans and coleopterans). Flying insects increased fruit set whereas small flower dwellers (mostly beetles) decreased both fruit and seed set. Vertebrates had a negligible effect on reproductive success. We conclude that although the floral resources provided by E. simplex may be important to some vertebrate species, these do not appear to contribute to increase fitness of the plant, which was more dependent upon flying insects for fruit and seed set. We additionally found that plant reproductive structures are heavily damaged by feral goats, which threaten the maintenance of this Canarian endemic species.

Pollination effectiveness of opportunistic Galápagos birds compared to that of insects: From fruit set to seedling emergence

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Relying on floral traits to assess pollination systems has been shown to underestimate the ecological service that novel mutualisms can provide. Although vertebrates with opportunistic food habits are common on islands, usually feeding upon flowers of entomophilous species (ES), little is known about how effective they are as pollinators. In a previous study, we had reported that native insectivorous and frugivorous Galápagos birds commonly visit ES flowers, without assessing whether they act as pollinators. Here we investigate this by focusing on three typically ES (Cryptocarpus pyriformis, Waltheria ovata, Cordia lutea) and one mostly ornithophilous species (OS), Opuntia echios.

METHODS

The quantitative component (QNC: the product of floral visit frequency and number of flowers contacted) and qualitative components (QLC: fruit and seed set, fruit length, and mass and proportion of seedling emergence) of pollination effectiveness of birds was compared with that of insects.

KEY RESULTS

Birds were not quantitatively important pollinators compared to insects. However, selective exclusion experiments in the four plant species revealed that all qualitative components of fitness improved when both birds and insects visited the flowers. Our study is the first to confirm pollination effectiveness of ES by native opportunistic birds.

CONCLUSIONS

The Galápagos pollination systems are probably more generalized than previous data suggested and, given that ES dominate the flora of this archipelago, we argue that, contrary to expectation, birds might have an important role in maintaining the reproductive success and diversity of plant communities.

Disclosing the double mutualist role of birds on Galápagos

Life on oceanic islands deviate in many ways from that on the mainland. Their biodiversity is relatively poor and some groups are well-represented, others not, especially not insects. A scarcity of insects forces birds to explore alternative food, such as nectar and fruit. In this way, island birds may pollinate and disperse seed to an extent unseen on any mainland; they may even first consume floral resources of a plant species and then later harvest the fruit of the same species. Through this biotic reuse, they may act as double mutualists. The latter have never been studied at the level of the network, because they are traditionally considered rare. We sampled pollination and seed-dispersal interactions on Galápagos and constructed a plant-bird mutualism network of 108 plant (12% being double mutualists) and 21 bird species (48% being double mutualists), and their 479 interactions, being either single (95%) or double mutualisms (5%). Double mutualists constitute the core in the pollination-dispersal network, coupling the two link types together. They may also initiate positive feedbacks (more pollination leading to more dispersal), which theoretically are known to be unstable. Thus, double mutualisms may be a necessary, but risky prerequisite to the survival of island biodiversity.

Pollinator shifts drive petal epidermal evolution on the Macaronesian Islands bird-flowered species

Pollinator shifts are considered to drive floral trait evolution, yet little is still known about the modifications of petal epidermal surface at a biogeographic region scale. Here we investigated how independent shifts from insects to passerine birds in the Macaronesian Islands consistently modified this floral trait (i.e. absence of papillate cells). Using current phylogenies and extensive evidence from field observations, we selected a total of 81 plant species and subspecies for petal microscopy and comparative analysis, including 19 of the 23 insular species pollinated by opportunistic passerine birds (Macaronesian bird-flowered element). Species relying on passerine birds as the most effective pollinators (bird-pollinated) independently evolved at least five times and in all instances associated with a loss of papillate cells, whereas species with a mixed pollination system (birds plus insects and/or other vertebrates) evolved at least five times in Macaronesia and papillate cells were lost in only 25% of these transitions. Our findings suggest that petal micromorphology is a labile trait during pollinator shifts and that papillate cells tend to be absent on those species where pollinators have limited mechanical interaction with flowers, including opportunistic passerine birds that forage by hovering or from the ground.

Pollination and seed dispersal of Melocactus ernestii Vaupel subsp. ernestii (Cactaceae) by lizards: an example of double mutualism

Recent studies show that the mutualistic role of lizards as pollinators and seed dispersers has been underestimated, with several ecological factors promoting such plant-animal interactions, especially on oceanic islands. Our aim is to provide a quantitative assessment of pollination and seed dispersal mutualisms with lizards in continental xeric habitats. We carried out focal observations of natural populations of Melocactus ernestii (Cactaceae) in the Caatinga, a Brazilian semiarid ecosystem, in order to record the frequency of visits, kind of resource searched and behaviour of visiting animals towards flowers and/or fruits. We made a new record of the lizard Tropidurus semitaeniatus foraging on flowers and fruits of M. ernestii. During the search for nectar, T. semitaeniatus contacted the reproductive structures of the flowers and transported pollen attached to its snout. Nectar production started at 14:00 h, with an average volume of 24.4 μl and an average concentration of solutes of 33%. Approximately 80% of the seeds of M. ernestii found in the faeces of T. semitaeniatus germinated under natural conditions. The roles of T. semitaeniatus as pollinator and seed disperser for M. ernestii show a clear relationship of double mutualism between two endemic species, which may result from the environmental conditions to which both species are subject. Seasonality, low water availability and arthropod supply in the environment, high local lizard densities, continuous nectar production by the flower and fruits with juicy pulp may be influencing the visits and, consequently, pollination and seed dispersal by lizards in this cactus.

Florivore impacts on plant reproductive success and pollinator mortality in an obligate pollination mutualism

Florivores are present in many pollination systems and can have direct and indirect effects on both plants and pollinators. Although the impact of florivores are commonly examined in facultative pollination mutualisms, their effects on obligate mutualism remain relatively unstudied. Here, we used experimental manipulations and surveys of naturally occurring plants to assess the effect of florivory on the obligate pollination mutualism between yuccas and yucca moths. Yucca filamentosa (Agavaceae) is pollinated by the moth Tegeticula cassandra (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae), and the mutualism also attracts two florivores: a generalist, the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus phyllopus (Hemiptera: Coreidae), and a specialist, the beetle Hymenorus densus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Experimental manipulations of leaf-footed bug densities on side branches of Y. filamentosa inflorescences demonstrated that feeding causes floral abscission but does not reduce pollen or seed production in the remaining flowers. Similar to the leaf-footed bugs, experimental manipulations of beetle densities within individual flowers demonstrated that beetle feeding also causes floral abscission, but, in addition, the beetles also cause a significant reduction in pollen availability. Path analyses of phenotypic selection based on surveys of naturally occurring plants revealed temporal variation in the plant traits important to plant fitness and the effects of the florivores on fitness. Leaf-footed bugs negatively impacted fitness when fewer plants were flowering and leaf-footed bug density was high, whereas beetles had a positive effect on fitness when there were many plants flowering and their densities were low. This positive effect was likely due to adult beetles consuming yucca moth eggs while having a negligible effect on floral abscission. Together, the actions of both florivores either augmented the relationship of plant traits and fitness or slightly weakened the relationship. Overall, the results suggest that, although florivores are always present during flowering, the impact of florivores on phenotypic selection in yuccas is strongly mitigated by changes in their densities on plants from year to year. In contrast, both florivores consistently influenced pollinator larval mortality through floral abscission, and H. densus beetles additionally via the consumption of pollinator eggs.

Additive and non-additive effects of simulated leaf and inflorescence damage on survival, growth and reproduction of the perennial herb Arabidopsis lyrata

Herbivores may damage both leaves and reproductive structures, and although such combined damage may affect plant fitness non-additively, this has received little attention. We conducted a 2-year field experiment with a factorial design to examine the effects of simulated leaf (0, 12.5, 25, or 50% of leaf area removed) and inflorescence damage (0 vs. 50% of inflorescences removed) on survival, growth and reproduction in the perennial herb Arabidopsis lyrata. Leaf and inflorescence damage negatively and independently reduced flower, fruit and seed production in the year of damage; leaf damage also reduced rosette size by the end of the first season and flower production in the second year. Leaf damage alone reduced the proportion of flowers forming a fruit and fruit production per plant the second year, but when combined with inflorescence damage no such effect was observed (significant leaf × inflorescence damage interaction). Damage to leaves (sources) caused a greater reduction in future reproduction than did simultaneous damage to leaves and inflorescences (sinks). This demonstrates that a full understanding of the effects of herbivore damage on plant fitness requires that consequences of damage to vegetative and reproductive structures are evaluated over more than 1 year and that non-additive effects are considered.