Dataset Information

Wind drives temporal variation in pollinator visitation in a fragmented tropical forest.

ABSTRACT: Wind is a critical factor in the ecology of pollinating insects such as bees. However, the role of wind in determining patterns of bee abundance and floral visitation rates across space and time is not well understood. Orchid bees are an important and diverse group of neotropical pollinators that harvest pollen, nectar and resin from plants. In addition, male orchid bees collect volatile scents that they store in special chambers in their hind legs, and for which the wind-based dispersal of odours may play a particularly crucial role. Here, we take advantage of this specialized scent foraging behaviour to study the effects of wind on orchid bee visitation at scent sources in a fragmented tropical forest ecosystem. Consistent with previous work, forest cover increased orchid bee visitation. In addition, we find that temporal changes in wind speed and turbulence increase visitation to scent stations within sites. These results suggest that the increased dispersal of attractive scents provided by wind and turbulence outweighs any biomechanical or energetic costs that might deter bees from foraging in these conditions. Overall, our results highlight the significance of wind in the ecology of these important pollinators in neotropical forests.

SUBMITTER: Crall JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7211451 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Wind drives temporal variation in pollinator visitation in a fragmented tropical forest.

Crall James D JD Brokaw Julia J Gagliardi Susan F SF Mendenhall Chase D CD Pierce Naomi E NE Combes Stacey A SA

Biology letters 20200422 4

Wind is a critical factor in the ecology of pollinating insects such as bees. However, the role of wind in determining patterns of bee abundance and floral visitation rates across space and time is not well understood. Orchid bees are an important and diverse group of neotropical pollinators that harvest pollen, nectar and resin from plants. In addition, male orchid bees collect volatile scents that they store in special chambers in their hind legs, and for which the wind-based dispersal of odou ...[more]

PMID: 32315595

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Project description:Light is a key resource for tree performance and hence, tree species partition spatial and temporal gradients in light availability. Although light distribution drives tree performance and species replacement during secondary forest succession, we yet lack understanding how light distribution changes with tropical forest development.This study aims to evaluate how changes in forest structure lead to changes in vertical and horizontal light heterogeneity during tropical forest succession.We described successional patterns in light using a chronosequence approach in which we compared 14 Mexican secondary forest stands that differ in age (8-32 years) since agricultural abandonment. For each stand, we measured vertical light profiles in 16 grid cells, and structural parameters (diameter at breast height, height and crown dimensions) for each tree.During succession, we found a rapid increase in stand size (basal area, crown area and length) and stand differentiation (i.e. a gradual leaf distribution along the forest profile), which leads to fast changes in light conditions and more light heterogeneity. The inflection points of the vertical light gradient (i.e. the absolute height at which 50% relative light intensity is attained) rapidly moved towards higher heights in the first 20 years, indicating that larger amounts of light are intercepted by canopy trees. Light attenuation rate (i.e. the rate of light extinction) decreased during succession due to slower accumulation of the crown area with height. Understorey light intensity and heterogeneity slightly decreased during succession because of an increase in crown size and a decrease in lateral gap frequency. Understorey relative light intensity was 1.56% at 32 years after abandonment.Synthesis. During succession, light conditions changed linearly, which should lead to a continuous and constant replacement of species. Especially in later successional stages, stronger vertical light gradients can limit the regeneration of light-demanding pioneer species and increase the proportion of shade-tolerant late-successional species under the canopy. These changes in light conditions were largely driven by the successional changes in forest structure, as basal area strongly determined the height where most light is absorbed, whereas crown area, and to a lesser extent crown length, determined light distribution.

Dataset Information

Wind drives temporal variation in pollinator visitation in a fragmented tropical forest.

Publications

Wind drives temporal variation in pollinator visitation in a fragmented tropical forest.

Similar Datasets

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