The impact of partner diversity and mate availability on plant-pollinator network structure and plant fitness

A classic prediction of co-evolutionary theory is that mutualists restrict their associations to a limited number of high-quality partners in order for the interaction to remain stable. However, in practice most mutualists either simultaneously or sequentially associate with multiple partners that confer the same reward. One of the best-known mutualisms is between plants and animal pollinators. In this mutualism, generalist plants that have multiple pollinators may have a fitness advantage compared to specialist plants that have few pollinators due to different processes (e.g. sampling effects, portfolio effects, complementarity). On the other hand, fitness costs may arise by associating with multiple pollinators, for example as a result of pollen and ovule discounting, stigma clogging or improper pollen transfer. Moreover, these effects are likely to depend on partner diversity and the availability of compatible mating partners, which can be expected to vary across populations within the landscape. The overall aim of this project is to use DNA meta-barcoding of both plants and pollinators to understand how partner diversity and mate availability shape network structure and ultimately plant fitness.

Keywords:habitat fragmentation, insect diversity, plant-pollinator interactions, specialization, network architecture, plant fitness

Disciplines:Community ecology, Plant ecology