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Librán-Embid F, Grass I, Emer C, Alarcón-Segura V, Behling H, Biagioni S, Ganuza C, Herrera-Krings C, Setyaningsih CA, Tscharntke T. Flower-bee versus pollen-bee metanetworks in fragmented landscapes. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232604. [PMID: 38807521 PMCID: PMC11338570 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the organization of mutualistic networks at multiple spatial scales is key to ensure biological conservation and functionality in human-modified ecosystems. Yet, how changing habitat and landscape features affect pollen-bee interaction networks is still poorly understood. Here, we analysed how bee-flower visitation and bee-pollen-transport interactions respond to habitat fragmentation at the local network and regional metanetwork scales, combining data from 29 fragments of calcareous grasslands, an endangered biodiversity hotspot in central Europe. We found that only 37% of the total unique pairwise species interactions occurred in both pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, whereas 28% and 35% were exclusive to pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, respectively. At local level, network specialization was higher in pollen-transport networks, and was negatively related to the diversity of land cover types in both network types. At metanetwork level, pollen transport data revealed that the proportion of single-fragment interactions increased with landscape diversity. Our results show that the specialization of calcareous grasslands' plant-pollinator networks decreases with landscape diversity, but network specialization is underestimated when only based on flower visitation information. Pollen transport data, more than flower visitation, and multi-scale analyses of metanetworks are fundamental for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in human-dominated landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Librán-Embid
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Justus Liebig University of Gießen, Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, Gießen35390, Germany
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart70599, Germany
- Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy (KomBioTa), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart70599, Germany
| | - Carine Emer
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Jardim Botânico, Rio de JaneiroCEP22460-030, Brazil
| | - Viviana Alarcón-Segura
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Marburg35037, Germany
| | - Hermann Behling
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Siria Biagioni
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Cristina Ganuza
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg97074, Germany
| | | | - Christina Ani Setyaningsih
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
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2
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Kopper C, Schönenberger J, Dellinger AS. High floral disparity without pollinator shifts in buzz-bee-pollinated Melastomataceae. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 38634161 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Shifts among functional pollinator groups are commonly regarded as sources of floral morphological diversity (disparity) through the formation of distinct pollination syndromes. While pollination syndromes may be used for predicting pollinators, their predictive accuracy remains debated, and they are rarely used to test whether floral disparity is indeed associated with pollinator shifts. We apply classification models trained and validated on 44 functional floral traits across 252 species with empirical pollinator observations and then use the validated models to predict pollinators for 159 species lacking observations. In addition, we employ multivariate statistics and phylogenetic comparative analyses to test whether pollinator shifts are the main source of floral disparity in Melastomataceae. We find strong support for four well-differentiated pollination syndromes ('buzz-bee', 'nectar-foraging vertebrate', 'food-body-foraging vertebrate', 'generalist'). While pollinator shifts add significantly to floral disparity, we find that the most species-rich 'buzz-bee' pollination syndrome is most disparate, indicating that high floral disparity may evolve without pollinator shifts. Also, relatively species-poor clades and geographic areas contributed substantially to total disparity. Finally, our results show that machine-learning approaches are a powerful tool for evaluating the predictive accuracy of the pollination syndrome concept as well as for predicting pollinators where observations are missing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantin Kopper
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Jürg Schönenberger
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Agnes S Dellinger
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria
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3
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Vallejo-Marin M, Russell AL. Harvesting pollen with vibrations: towards an integrative understanding of the proximate and ultimate reasons for buzz pollination. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:379-398. [PMID: 38071461 PMCID: PMC11006549 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Buzz pollination, a type of interaction in which bees use vibrations to extract pollen from certain kinds of flowers, captures a close relationship between thousands of bee and plant species. In the last 120 years, studies of buzz pollination have contributed to our understanding of the natural history of buzz pollination, and basic properties of the vibrations produced by bees and applied to flowers in model systems. Yet, much remains to be done to establish its adaptive significance and the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of buzz pollination across diverse plant and bee systems. Here, we review for bees and plants the proximate (mechanism and ontogeny) and ultimate (adaptive significance and evolution) explanations for buzz pollination, focusing especially on integrating across these levels to synthesize and identify prominent gaps in our knowledge. Throughout, we highlight new technical and modelling approaches and the importance of considering morphology, biomechanics and behaviour in shaping our understanding of the adaptive significance of buzz pollination. We end by discussing the ecological context of buzz pollination and how a multilevel perspective can contribute to explain the proximate and evolutionary reasons for this ancient bee-plant interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Vallejo-Marin
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden
| | - Avery L Russell
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65897, USA
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4
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Olsen SL, Evju M, Åström J, Løkken JO, Dahle S, Andresen JL, Eide NE. Climate influence on plant-pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8910. [PMID: 35619731 PMCID: PMC9126989 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is altering the world's ecosystems through direct effects of climate warming and precipitation changes but also indirectly through changes in biotic interactions. For instance, climate‐driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant–pollinator interactions, thereby influencing plant reproductive success and ultimately population dynamics of insect‐pollinated plants. To better understand how the importance of insect pollination for plant fruit set varies with climate, we experimentally excluded pollinators from the partly selfing keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus along elevational gradients in the forest‐tundra ecotone in central Norway. The study comprised three mountain areas, seven elevational gradients spanning from the climatically relatively benign birch forest to the colder alpine areas above the tree line, and 180 plots of 1 × 1 m, with experimental treatments allocated randomly to plots within sites. Within the experimental plots, we counted the number of flowers of V. myrtillus and counted and weighed all fruits, as well as seeds for a selection of fruits. Excluding pollinators resulted in lower fruit production, as well as reduced fruit and seed mass of V. myrtillus. In the alpine sites pollinator exclusion resulted in 84% fewer fruits, 50% lower fruit weight, and 50% lower seed weight compared to control conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the negative effect of pollinator exclusion was less pronounced in the forest compared to alpine sites, suggesting that the importance of insect pollination for seed production is lower at low elevations. Our findings indicate that the keystone species V. myrtillus is relatively robust to changes in the pollinator community in a warmer climate, thereby making it less vulnerable to climate‐driven changes in plant–pollinator interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siri L Olsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Oslo Norway.,Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås Norway
| | | | - Jens Åström
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Jørn O Løkken
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Sondre Dahle
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Jonas L Andresen
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås Norway.,University of South-Eastern Norway Bø Norway
| | - Nina E Eide
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
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5
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Estravis-Barcala MC, Palottini F, Macri I, Nery D, Farina WM. Managed honeybees and South American bumblebees exhibit complementary foraging patterns in highbush blueberry. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8187. [PMID: 33854164 PMCID: PMC8046787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87729-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite Apis mellifera being the most widely managed pollinator to enhance crop production, they are not the most suitable species for highbush blueberries, which possess restrictive floral morphology and require buzz-pollination. Thus, the South American bumblebee Bombus pauloensis is increasingly managed as an alternative species in this crop alongside honeybees. Herein, we evaluated the foraging patterns of the two species, concerning the potential pollen transfer between two blueberry co-blooming cultivars grown under open high tunnels during two seasons considering different colony densities. Both managed pollinators showed different foraging patterns, influenced by the cultivar identity which varied in their floral morphology and nectar production. Our results demonstrate that both species are efficient foragers on highbush blueberry and further suggest that they contribute positively to its pollination in complementary ways: while bumblebees were more effective at the individual level (visited more flowers and carried more pollen), the greater densities of honeybee foragers overcame the difficulties imposed by the flower morphology, irrespective of the stocking rate. This study supports the addition of managed native bumblebees alongside honeybees to enhance pollination services and emphasizes the importance of examining behavioural aspects to optimize management practices in pollinator-dependent crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Cecilia Estravis-Barcala
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Florencia Palottini
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ivana Macri
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Ingeniería Rural, Centro de Investigación de Agroindustria (CIA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Denise Nery
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Walter M Farina
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Liu H, Macdonald CA, Cook J, Anderson IC, Singh BK. An Ecological Loop: Host Microbiomes across Multitrophic Interactions. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:1118-1130. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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7
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Jacquemart AL, Buyens C, Hérent MF, Quetin-Leclercq J, Lognay G, Hance T, Quinet M. Male flowers of Aconitum compensate for toxic pollen with increased floral signals and rewards for pollinators. Sci Rep 2019; 9:16498. [PMID: 31712605 PMCID: PMC6848206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53355-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Many plants require animal pollinators for successful reproduction; these plants provide pollinator resources in pollen and nectar (rewards) and attract pollinators by specific cues (signals). In a seeming contradiction, some plants produce toxins such as alkaloids in their pollen and nectar, protecting their resources from ineffective pollinators. We investigated signals and rewards in the toxic, protandrous bee-pollinated plant Aconitum napellus, hypothesizing that male-phase flower reproductive success is pollinator-limited, which should favour higher levels of signals (odours) and rewards (nectar and pollen) compared with female-phase flowers. Furthermore, we expected insect visitors to forage only for nectar, due to the toxicity of pollen. We demonstrated that male-phase flowers emitted more volatile molecules and produced higher volumes of nectar than female-phase flowers. Alkaloids in pollen functioned as chemical defences, and were more diverse and more concentrated compared to the alkaloids in nectar. Visitors actively collected little pollen for larval food but consumed more of the less-toxic nectar. Toxic pollen remaining on the bee bodies promoted pollen transfer efficiency, facilitating pollination.
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Affiliation(s)
- A-L Jacquemart
- Earth and Life Institute- Agronomy - Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, Box L7.05.14, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - C Buyens
- Earth and Life Institute- Agronomy - Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, Box L7.05.14, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - M-F Hérent
- Louvain Drug Research Institute, Pharmacognosy Research Group - Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - J Quetin-Leclercq
- Louvain Drug Research Institute, Pharmacognosy Research Group - Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - G Lognay
- Analytical Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - T Hance
- Earth and Life Institute - Biodiversity - Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, Box L7.07.04, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - M Quinet
- Earth and Life Institute- Agronomy - Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, Box L7.05.14, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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