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Urbanisation modulates plant-pollinator interactions in invasive vs. native plant species.

ABSTRACT: Pollination is a key ecological process, and invasive alien plant species have been shown to significantly affect plant-pollinator interactions. Yet, the role of the environmental context in modulating such processes is understudied. As urbanisation is a major component of global change, being associated with a range of stressors (e.g. heat, pollution, habitat isolation), we tested whether the attractiveness of a common invasive alien plant (Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust) vs. a common native plant (Cytisus scoparius, common broom) for pollinators changes with increasing urbanisation. We exposed blossoms of both species along an urbanisation gradient and quantified different types of pollinator interaction with the flowers. Both species attracted a broad range of pollinators, with significantly more visits for R. pseudoacacia, but without significant differences in numbers of insects that immediately accessed the flowers. However, compared to native Cytisus, more pollinators only hovered in front of flowers of invasive Robinia without visiting those subsequently. The decision rate to enter flowers of the invasive species decreased with increasing urbanisation. This suggests that while invasive Robinia still attracts many pollinators in urban settings attractiveness may decrease with increasing urban stressors. Results indicated future directions to deconstruct the role of different stressors in modulating plant-pollinator interactions, and they have implications for urban development since Robinia can be still considered as a "pollinator-friendly" tree for certain urban settings.

SUBMITTER: Buchholz S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6477046 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Urbanisation modulates plant-pollinator interactions in invasive vs. native plant species.

Buchholz Sascha S Kowarik Ingo I

Scientific reports 20190423 1

Pollination is a key ecological process, and invasive alien plant species have been shown to significantly affect plant-pollinator interactions. Yet, the role of the environmental context in modulating such processes is understudied. As urbanisation is a major component of global change, being associated with a range of stressors (e.g. heat, pollution, habitat isolation), we tested whether the attractiveness of a common invasive alien plant (Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust) vs. a common nativ ...[more]

PMID: 31011154

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Project description:BackgroundHabitat loss is one of the principal causes of the current pollinator decline. With agricultural intensification, increasing urbanisation is among the main drivers of habitat loss. Consequently studies focusing on pollinator community structure along urbanisation gradients have increased in recent years. However, few studies have investigated how urbanisation affects plant-pollinator interaction networks. Here we assessed modifications of plant-pollinator interactions along an urbanisation gradient based on the study of their morphological relationships.Methodology/principal findingsAlong an urbanisation gradient comprising four types of landscape contexts (semi-natural, agricultural, suburban, urban), we set up experimental plant communities containing two plant functional groups differing in their morphological traits ("open flowers" and "tubular flowers"). Insect visitations on these communities were recorded to build plant-pollinator networks. A total of 17 857 interactions were recorded between experimental plant communities and flower-visitors. The number of interactions performed by flower-visitors was significantly lower in urban landscape context than in semi-natural and agricultural ones. In particular, insects such as Syrphidae and solitary bees that mostly visited the open flower functional group were significantly impacted by urbanisation, which was not the case for bumblebees. Urbanisation also impacted the generalism of flower-visitors and we detected higher interaction evenness in urban landscape context than in agricultural and suburban ones. Finally, in urban context, these modifications lowered the potential reproductive success of the open flowers functional group.Conclusions/significanceOur findings show that open flower plant species and their specific flower-visitors are especially sensitive to increasing urbanisation. These results provide new clues to improve conservation measures within urbanised areas in favour of specialist flower-visitors. To complete this functional approach, studies using networks resolved to the species level along urbanised gradients would be required.

Project description: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. Climate‐driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant–pollinator interactions in a warming world, thereby influencing plant reproductive success and ultimately population dynamics of insect‐pollinated plants. Our experimental study shows that the plant species Vaccinium myrtillus is more robust to changes in the pollinator community in warmer compared to colder climates. This suggests that this keystone species is less vulnerable to climate‐driven changes in plant–pollinator interactions than expected.

Dataset Information

Urbanisation modulates plant-pollinator interactions in invasive vs. native plant species.

Publications

Urbanisation modulates plant-pollinator interactions in invasive vs. native plant species.

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