The longstanding notion that most angiosperm flowers are specialized for pollination by particular animal types, such as birds or bees, has been challenged recently on the basis of apparent widespread generalization in pollination systems. Specialization, constraints, and conflicting interests in. For a long time the dominant view was that many, or perhaps even most, plantpollinator interactions were specialized. What are they telling us about community assembly, conservation, and ecosystem management. For example, these two approaches have been essential for understanding the functional ecology of floral traits, the dynamics of pollen transport, competition for pollinator services, and patterns of specialization and generalization in plantpollinator interactions. Bee species vary widely in the degree to which they specialize on floral hosts. For instance, predators are specialized if they attack only a few prey species, and specialized flowers are those that are visited by few pollinator species only. In 1996 waser and his colleagues tried to stir things up by writing an article in which they argued that, in contrast to common belief, generalization was widespread in plantpollinator systems. Conceptually framed, highly synthetic, and uptodate, this impressive edited volume should appeal to a broad. Most oligoleges have one generation per year univoltine, so adult emergence can and must synchronize with host bloom e. This plant pollinator relationship is essential to the survival of natural and.
From specialization to generalization just as flowering plants depend on their pollinators, many birds, insects, and bats rely on plants for energy and nutrients. Spatial and temporal turnover of plant and pollinator assemblages based on the jaccard dissimilarity index were compared between meadows in a given year and within. The use of pollination networks in conservation1this. Plantpollinator interaction an overview sciencedirect. This plantpollinator relationship is essential to the survival of natural and.
The university of chicago press, chicago, illinois. An important contribution to our understanding of plantpollinator interactions. Research is mainly focussed on the effects of habitat modification and fragmentation on species autecologies. This viewpoint also serves as the introduction to this special issue on the ecology and evolution of plantpollinator interactions. Some bee species are restricted to a single genus of flowering plant for all of their pollen needs. Functional specialization and phenotypic generalization in. Evidence is accumulating that suggests that habitat fragmentation can have significant impacts on plant. They found that regional habitat loss contributes directly to species loss and indirectly to the reorganization of plantpollinator interactions in.
Waser and jeff ollerton eiibliolhok biolocro the university of chicago press chicago and london. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. This plantpollinator relationship is essential to the survival of natural and agricultural ecosystems. In 1996 waser and his colleagues tried to stir things up by writing an article in which they argued that, in contrast to common belief, generalization was widespread in. The specialization continuum in pollination systems. Due to its impact on pollination success and network stability, an interesting feature of plantpollinator interactions is the species and network specialization. Plantpollinator interactions university of chicago press.
In contrast, interactions between predators and prey or herbivores and plants are often more compartmentalized, forming smaller clusters within the broader interaction web 5, 6. Diversity, generalization, and specialization in plant. But actual pollination systems often are more generalized and dynamic than these traditions might suggest. All these proposals are valid, but a clear definition in the context of each study is necessary, because. Waser and jeff ollerton, editors, plantpollinator interactions. The robustness of plant pollinator assemblages to species loss is a main concern of basic and applied ecology since 87. Finally, spiesman and inouye 20 explicitly studied the effects of sandhill habitat loss on 15 plantpollinator local webs in north florida, usa.
We found that plantpollinator interactions in a grassland ecosystem in. We conclude with several suggestions that we hope will stimulate future research. The study of pollination specialization by examining network properties and more recently incorporating predictors of pairwise interactions is emerging as a useful framework, yet integrated datasets combining network. Just as flowering plants depend on their pollinators, many birds, insects, and bats rely on plants for energy and nutrients. This multiauthor book explores the field of pollination biology at different scales, from populations through communities to landscapes, and from both basic and applied viewpoints. Waser and ollerton 2006 also addresses many of the contemporary topics in pollination ecology, especially those dealing with specialization and generalization in plantpollinator interactions. Pollinator diversity and crop pollination services are at risk ingolf steffandewenter1.
Nov 01, 2006 hence, i was interested when i read the title of this edited volume. The robustness of plantpollinator assemblages to species loss is a main concern of basic and applied ecology since 87. Ecological specialization in a food web or other interaction networks is commonly defined by the number of realized links. Evolutionary breakdown of pollination specialization in a. Plantpollinator interactions from specialization to generalization edited by nickolas m. Understanding how the organization of plantpollinator interactions may influence species persistence is central to predict the. Generalization in pollination systems, and why it matters. Despite recent increased interest in the frequency and evolutionary consequences of generalization in plantpollinator systems, little is known on whether plant generalization on pollinators actually is a specieslevel trait. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. This plantpollinator relationship is essential to the survival of natural. Waser and ollerton brought together pollination biologists from around the globe to explore the ecological and evolutionary importance of specialist and generalist pollinators. Species of the genus augochloropsis are generally between 8 and 12 mm long and metallic, typically bright green or blue in color, with some exceptions such as gold, red, or purple.
We studied specialization, network robustness and other network indices of 67 quantitative plantpollinator networks consisting of 268 observational hours and 4,380 plantpollinator interactions along a 3. Augochloropsis species can be differentiated from other augochlorini at the genus level by the tegulae that are punctate, dshaped, and bent inwards. Our results warn against the use of single measures of ecological generalization to question the pollination syndrome concept, and highlight the importance of community comparisons to assess the pollination syndromes, and to understand the relationships between ecological and evolutionary specialization in plantpollinator interactions. The specialization continuum in pollination systems besjournals. Using four years of plant pollinator interaction data from 18 meadows in the willamette national forest, oregon, this thesis examined how meadow size, the amount of nearby meadow habitat, weather, degree days, and soil moisture are related to the frequency of plant pollinator interactions. Regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between the increase of habitat loss and the shift to generalization in insect, but not in plant, communities. Plant pollinator interactions from specialization to generalization edited by nickolas m. Ollerton and others published plantpollinator interactions. Plantpollinator interaction an overview sciencedirect topics. Plantpollinator interactions is a multifaceted exploration of the specializationgeneralization continuum in pollination. Your use of this pdf, the bioone complete website, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of bioones terms of use, available at. One promising approach at the community scale is network analysis, which allows actual interactions to be assessed, unlike biodiversity surveys, which only identify the potentially interacting organisms.
Plantpollinator interactions portrays the intimate relationships of pollination over time and space and reveals patterns of interactions from individual to community. The dichotomy between generalization and specialization in pollination systems is a simplification, for purposes of debate, of what is really a continuum between plants pollinated by literally hundreds of pollinator species and those pollinated by just one pollinator species 1. Maybe it was time to revise my oldfashioned notions and embrace a new paradigm perhaps one in which specialization in plantpollinator systems was more important than i had believed. Volume 103 issue 9 annals of botany oxford academic. At the same time, biologists working mainly in the tropics and the speciesrich temperate floras of the southern hemisphere are documenting pollination. Recent concern about declines in pollinating insects highlights the need for better understanding of plantpollinator interactions. All are valid, but in any study, they need to be defined, because different interpretations of specialization have different evolutionary and ecological implications.
Specialization of plantpollinator interactions increases. Aizen2 1department of ecology and evolutionary biology, university of tennessee, 569 dabney hall, knoxville, tennessee 379961610 usa. The information and the knowledge you are going to got here is fresh in the oven so dont end up being worry if you feel like an old people live in narrow town. Due to its impact on pollination success and network stability, an interesting feature of plant pollinator interactions is the species and network specialization. We contrasted patterns of specialization observed in five plantpollinator interaction webs with predictions based on null models. Furthermore, depauperate island pollinator faunas are expected to impose selective pressures on plant. This need for specialization seems to conflict with the generalized nature of most plantpollinator interactions. Article pdf available january 2007 with 1,709 reads.
Generalization versus specialization in plant pollination. Mar 28, 2007 regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between the increase of habitat loss and the shift to generalization in insect, but not in plant, communities. The occurrence and frequency of plantpollinator interactions are acknowledged to be a function of multiple factors, including the spatiotemporal distribution of species. Recent studies have suggested that plantpollinator interactions may be less specialized than previously thought. Plant pollinator interactions portrays the intimate relationships of pollination over time and space and reveals patterns of interactions from individual to community levels, showing how these patterns change at different spatial and temporal scales.
The result is a web with many asymmetries in degrees of specialization among the interacting species. A global test of the pollination syndrome hypothesis. Hence, i was interested when i read the title of this edited volume. Plantpollinator interactions covers an important theme in. Ecology and evolution of plantpollinator interactions. The landscape and biodiversity research group lbrg in the school of science and technology at the university of northampton carries out fundamental and applied research in the area of landscape ecology and its relationship to biodiversity and the ecology of species interactions. How does an oligolege respond if its pollen hosts fail to bloom. Over the short term, specialization ensures conspecific pollen transfer. Similar pollinator faunas on different islands may generate parallel selective environments resulting in the convergent evolution of. Pdf pollination and floral ecology download full pdf book. From specialization to generalization, edited by nickolas m. The diverse effects of habitat fragmentation on plant. From specialization to generalization in your phone, it can give you a way to get closer to the new knowledge or information.
Plantpollinator interactions from flower to landscape the long and the short of it. Department of plant sciences university of oxford oxford, uk email. Seldom does one wax poetic about an edited volume arising from a symposium at a large national meeting. To illustrate the range of specialization and generalization in pollinators use of plants and vice versa, we draw on studies of two floras in the united states, and of members of several plant families and solitary bee genera. For example, specialized pollination may result from mismatched phenology, with asynchronous. Pollinator diversity and crop pollination services are at risk. They found that regional habitat loss contributes directly to species loss and indirectly to the reorganization of plantpollinator interactions in local communities. Oct 10, 2016 the specialization concept in plantpollinator interactions has been used in a variety of ways, ranging from ecological and phenotypic to evolutionary. Floral traits, generalization and specialization, global change, male fitness, mating systems, multiple paternity, plantpollinator networks, pollen and. The landscape and biodiversity research group wikipedia.
In plantpollinator interactions, waser and ollerton bring together experts from different regions of the world to address how patterns of specialization and generalization in pollination systems vary across spatial and temporal scales. We quantified specialization in species interactions, specialization of interaction partners, and species responses to disturbance. From specialization to generalization find, read and cite all the. Waser and jeff ollerton is published by university of. Habitat fragmentation affects a wide variety of biological variables including species abundance and richness population demography, phenology, male and female reproductive fitness, and it also affects the degree of specialization versus generalization of pollination networks. Our results suggest that, in plantpollinator interactions, insect communities are more sensitive andor quicker than plant communities to respond to the effects of habitat loss. Maybe it was time to revise my oldfashioned notions and embrace a new paradigmperhaps one in which specialization in plantpollinator systems was more important than i had believed. Diversity, generalization, and specialization in plantpollinator networks of montane meadows. Download pdf pollination and floral ecology book full free. Pollinator specialization and pollination syndromes of three. Specialization and generalization are dynamic not fixed and exist simultaneously in multiple states at different levels of biological hierarchy. From specialization to generalization is an unordinary book that the inside of the publication waiting for you to snap the item but latter it will shock you with the secret that inside. Aizen2 1national center for ecological analysis and synthesis, university of california, 735 state street, suite 300, santa barbara, california 9310351 usa. From specialization to generalization find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
287 1408 666 1069 22 606 1386 963 164 183 858 1408 1000 1225 54 1003 1136 1362 1235 1229 411 1297 1200 861 569 528 601 832 1323 702 161 1358 894 864 381 1467