The potential for indirect effects between co-flowering plants via shared pollinators depends on resource abundance, accessibility and relatedness

Carvalheiro, Luísa Gigante, Biesmeijer, Jacobus Christiaan, Benadi, Gita, Fründ, Jochen, Stang, Martina, Bartomeus, Ignasi, Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N., Baude, Mathilde, Gomes, Sofia I. F., Merckx, Vincent, Baldock, Katherine, Bennett, Andrew T. D., Boada, Ruth, Bommarco, Riccardo, Cartar, Ralph, Chacoff, Natacha, Dänhardt, Juliana, Dicks, Lynn V., Dormann, Carsten F., Ekroos, Johan, Henson, Kate S.E., Holzschuh, Andrea, Junker, Robert R., Lopezaraiza-Mikel, Martha, Memmott, Jane, Montero-Castaño, Ana, Nelson, Isabel L., Petanidou, Theodora, Power, Eileen F., Rundlöf, Maj, Smith, Henrik G., Stout, Jane C., Temitope, Kehinde, Tscharntke, Teja, Tscheulin, Thomas, Vilà, Montserrat, Kunin, William E. and Jordan, Ferenc (2014) The potential for indirect effects between co-flowering plants via shared pollinators depends on resource abundance, accessibility and relatedness. Ecology Letters, 17 (11). pp. 1389-1399. ISSN 1461-023X

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12342

Abstract

Co‐flowering plant species commonly share flower visitors, and thus have the potential to influence each other's pollination. In this study we analysed 750 quantitative plant–pollinator networks from 28 studies representing diverse biomes worldwide. We show that the potential for one plant species to influence another indirectly via shared pollinators was greater for plants whose resources were more abundant (higher floral unit number and nectar sugar content) and more accessible. The potential indirect influence was also stronger between phylogenetically closer plant species and was independent of plant geographic origin (native vs. non‐native). The positive effect of nectar sugar content and phylogenetic proximity was much more accentuated for bees than for other groups. Consequently, the impact of these factors depends on the pollination mode of plants, e.g. bee or fly pollinated. Our findings may help predict which plant species have the greatest importance in the functioning of plant–pollination networks.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Facilitation, floral traits, flower density, flower resources, indirect interactions, interspecific competition, morphological similarity, nectar, phylogenetic distance, plant–pollinator networks.
Subjects: C100 Biology
C200 Botany
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: John Coen
Date Deposited: 17 Feb 2020 15:28
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2021 19:49
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42097

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