The Robustness of Plant-Pollinator Assemblages: Linking Plant Interaction Patterns and Sensitivity to Pollinator Loss

Author(s)

Astegiano, Julia ^{[1, 2]} ; Massol, Francois ^{[2, 3]} ; Vidal, Mariana Morais ^[1] ; Cheptou, Pierre-Olivier ^[2] ; Guimaraes, Jr., Paulo R. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Montpellier 3, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, CEFE UMR 5175, F-34032 Montpellier - France

^[3] Univ Lille 1, CNRS UMR 8198, Lab GEPV, F-59655 Villeneuve Dascq - France

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 2 FEB 3 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 12

Abstract

Most flowering plants depend on pollinators to reproduce. Thus, evaluating the robustness of plant-pollinator assemblages to species loss is a major concern. How species interaction patterns are related to species sensitivity to partner loss may influence the robustness of plant-pollinator assemblages. In plants, both reproductive dependence on pollinators (breeding system) and dispersal ability may modulate plant sensitivity to pollinator loss. For instance, species with strong dependence (e.g. dioecious species) and low dispersal (e.g. seeds dispersed by gravity) may be the most sensitive to pollinator loss. We compared the interaction patterns of plants differing in dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability in a meta-dataset comprising 192 plant species from 13 plant-pollinator networks. In addition, network robustness was compared under different scenarios representing sequences of plant extinctions associated with plant sensitivity to pollinator loss. Species with different dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability showed similar levels of generalization. Although plants with low dispersal ability interacted with more generalized pollinators, low-dispersal plants with strong dependence on pollinators (i.e. the most sensitive to pollinator loss) interacted with more particular sets of pollinators (i.e. shared a low proportion of pollinators with other plants). Only two assemblages showed lower robustness under the scenario considering plant generalization, dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability than under the scenario where extinction sequences only depended on plant generalization (i.e. where higher generalization level was associated with lower probability of extinction). Overall, our results support the idea that species generalization and network topology may be good predictors of assemblage robustness to species loss, independently of plant dispersal ability and breeding system. In contrast, since ecological specialization among partners may increase the probability of disruption of interactions, the fact that the plants most sensitive to pollinator loss interacted with more particular pollinator assemblages suggest that the persistence of these plants and their pollinators might be highly compromised. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/54422-8 - Structure and coevolutionary dynamics in mutualistic networks
• Grantee: Paulo Roberto Guimarães Junior
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/04941-1 - Robustness of plant-pollinator networks and fragmented landscapes: the role of plant breeding system and dispersal strategy on plant species persistence
• Grantee: Julia Astegiano
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 10/11633-6 - Habitat fragmentation in Atlantic Forest and the persistence of plant-frugivore networks
• Grantee: Mariana Morais Vidal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/09951-2 - Plant-pollinator networks robustness to habitat loss: the influence of plant reproductive systems
• Grantee: Julia Astegiano
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral