Ecological and evolutionary drivers of pollen limitation in a Mediterranean island trophic network

• Grant number: 18/02996-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal researcher: Marlies Sazima
• Grantee: Pedro Joaquim Bergamo
• Supervisor abroad: Anna Traveset
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/06434-0 - Plant-pollinator interactions in communities and the assembly of functional traits and of the reproductive success, BP.DR

Abstract

Pollen limitation of plant reproduction occurs when seed set is reduced due to limited pollination quantity and/or quality. Community-wide studies are a promising approach to identify ecological and evolutionary drivers of pollen limitation, although rarely conducted. Moreover, each plant species may modify the pollination service of shared pollinators, influencing pollen limitation. This community context where plants are interacting can be quantified through pollination network metrics for each species. Since plants are also embedded in other interactions that also influence its fitness, such as herbivory, other types of networks may reveal drivers of pollen limitation. The Mediterranean islands present a high plant-pollinator biodiversity, and the plants exhibit distinct reproductive strategies, being an ecosystem well suited for community-wide approaches. In this sense, this project aims to investigate ecological and evolutionary drivers of pollen limitation in a Mediterranean island trophic network. We will conduct pollen limitation experiments and sampling of pollination and herbivory interactions in the field. Then, we will relate the magnitude of pollen limitation with common predictors (floral traits, plant dependence of pollination, pollination specialization). Finally, we will evaluate how plant species roles in the pollination and herbivory network are associated with pollen limitation, assessing whether plants suffering higher herbivory levels are more pollen limited due to a decreased attractiveness to pollinators. This study is a complement of the ongoing PhD project, investigating how community context influences plant reproductive success. Therefore, we expect this study to contribute towards the knowledge of pollination dynamics at the community-level.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BERGAMO, PEDRO J.; STREHER, NATHALIA SUSIN; TRAVESET, ANNA; WOLOWSKI, MARINA; SAZIMA, MARLIES. Pollination outcomes reveal negative density-dependence coupled with interspecific facilitation among plants. ECOLOGY LETTERS, OCT 2019. (16/06434-0, 18/02996-0)

BERGAMO, PEDRO JOAQUIM; FREITAS, LEANDRO; SAZIMA, MARLIES; WOLOWSKI, MARINA. ollinator-mediated facilitation alleviates pollen limitation in a plant-hummingbird networ. Oecologia, v. 198, n. 1, p. 205-217, JAN 2022. (18/02996-0, 16/06434-0)

BERGAMO, PEDRO J.; STREHER, NATHALIA SUSIN; TRAVESET, ANNA; WOLOWSKI, MARINA; SAZIMA, MARLIES. Pollination outcomes reveal negative density-dependence coupled with interspecific facilitation among plants. ECOLOGY LETTERS, v. 23, n. 1, p. 129-139, JAN 2020. (16/06434-0, 18/02996-0)