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Librán-Embid F, Grass I, Emer C, Alarcón-Segura V, Behling H, Biagioni S, Ganuza C, Herrera-Krings C, Setyaningsih CA, Tscharntke T. Flower-bee versus pollen-bee metanetworks in fragmented landscapes. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232604. [PMID: 38807521 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the organization of mutualistic networks at multiple spatial scales is key to ensure biological conservation and functionality in human-modified ecosystems. Yet, how changing habitat and landscape features affect pollen-bee interaction networks is still poorly understood. Here, we analysed how bee-flower visitation and bee-pollen-transport interactions respond to habitat fragmentation at the local network and regional metanetwork scales, combining data from 29 fragments of calcareous grasslands, an endangered biodiversity hotspot in central Europe. We found that only 37% of the total unique pairwise species interactions occurred in both pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, whereas 28% and 35% were exclusive to pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, respectively. At local level, network specialization was higher in pollen-transport networks, and was negatively related to the diversity of land cover types in both network types. At metanetwork level, pollen transport data revealed that the proportion of single-fragment interactions increased with landscape diversity. Our results show that the specialization of calcareous grasslands' plant-pollinator networks decreases with landscape diversity, but network specialization is underestimated when only based on flower visitation information. Pollen transport data, more than flower visitation, and multi-scale analyses of metanetworks are fundamental for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in human-dominated landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Librán-Embid
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
- Justus Liebig University of Gießen, Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26 , Gießen 35390, Germany
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim , Stuttgart 70599, Germany
- Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy (KomBioTa), University of Hohenheim , Stuttgart 70599, Germany
| | - Carine Emer
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Jardim Botânico , Rio de Janeiro CEP22460-030, Brazil
| | - Viviana Alarcón-Segura
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
- Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg , Marburg 35037, Germany
| | - Hermann Behling
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Siria Biagioni
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Cristina Ganuza
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg , Würzburg 97074, Germany
| | | | - Christina Ani Setyaningsih
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen , Göttingen 37077, Germany
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2
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Zhang X, Dalsgaard B, Staab M, Zhu C, Zhao Y, Gonçalves F, Ren P, Cai C, Qiao G, Ding P, Si X. Habitat fragmentation increases specialization of multi-trophic interactions by high species turnover. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231372. [PMID: 37876189 PMCID: PMC10598433 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation is altering species interactions worldwide. However, the mechanisms underlying the response of network specialization to habitat fragmentation remain unknown, especially for multi-trophic interactions. We here collected a large dataset consisting of 2670 observations of tri-trophic interactions among plants, sap-sucking aphids and honeydew-collecting ants on 18 forested islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China. For each island, we constructed an antagonistic plant-aphid and a mutualistic aphid-ant network, and tested how network specialization varied with island area and isolation. We found that both networks exhibited higher specialization on smaller islands, while only aphid-ant networks had increased specialization on more isolated islands. Variations in network specialization among islands was primarily driven by species turnover, which was interlinked across trophic levels as fragmentation increased the specialization of both antagonistic and mutualistic networks through bottom-up effects via plant and aphid communities. These findings reveal that species on small and isolated islands display higher specialization mainly due to effects of fragmentation on species turnover, with behavioural changes causing interaction rewiring playing only a minor role. Our study highlights the significance of adopting a multi-trophic perspective when exploring patterns and processes in structuring ecological networks in fragmented landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Bo Dalsgaard
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Michael Staab
- Technical University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Chen Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Yuhao Zhao
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Archipelago Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Fernando Gonçalves
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Peng Ren
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Chang Cai
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Gexia Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Ding
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Xingfeng Si
- Zhejiang Zhoushan Archipelago Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
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3
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Tsz Long Wong D, Norman H, Creedy TJ, Jordaens K, Moran KM, Young A, Mengual X, Skevington JH, Vogler AP. The phylogeny and evolutionary ecology of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) inferred from mitochondrial genomes. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 184:107759. [PMID: 36921697 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are a diverse group of pollinators and a major research focus in ecology, but their phylogenetic relationships remain incompletely known. Using a genome skimming approach we generated mitochondrial genomes for 91 species, capturing a wide taxonomic diversity of the family. To reduce the required amount of input DNA and overall cost of the library construction, sequencing and assembly was conducted on mixtures of specimens, which raises the problem of chimera formation of mitogenomes. We present a novel chimera detection test based on gene tree incongruence, but identified only a single mitogenome of chimeric origin. Together with existing data for a final set of 127 taxa, phylogenetic analysis on nucleotide and amino acid sequences using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference revealed a basal split of Microdontinae from all other syrphids. The remainder consists of several deep clades assigned to the subfamily Eristalinae in the current classification, including a clade comprising the subfamily Syrphinae (plus Pipizinae). These findings call for a re-definition of subfamilies, but basal nodes had insufficient support to allow such action. Molecular-clock dating placed the origin of the Syrphidae crown group in the mid-Cretaceous while the Eristalinae-Syrphinae clade likely originated near the K/Pg boundary. Transformation of larval life history characters on the tree suggests that Syrphidae initially had sap feeding larvae, which diversified greatly in diet and habitat association during the Eocene and Oligocene, coinciding with the diversification of angiosperms and the evolution of various insect groups used as larval host, prey, or mimicry models. Mitogenomes proved to be a powerful phylogenetic marker for studies of Syrphidae at subfamily and tribe levels, allowing dense taxon sampling that provided insight into the great ecological diversity and rapid evolution of larval life history traits of the hoverflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Tsz Long Wong
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BX, U.K; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, U.K.
| | - Hannah Norman
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BX, U.K; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, U.K.
| | - Thomas J Creedy
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BX, U.K; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, U.K.
| | - Kurt Jordaens
- Department of Biology-Invertebrates Unit, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Joint Experimental Molecular Unit Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium.
| | - Kevin M Moran
- Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - Andrew Young
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Ximo Mengual
- Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany.
| | - Jeffrey H Skevington
- Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - Alfried P Vogler
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BX, U.K; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, U.K.
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4
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Abstract
There is growing awareness of pollinator declines worldwide. Conservation efforts have mainly focused on finding the direct causes, while paying less attention to building a systemic understanding of the fragility of these communities of pollinators. To fill this gap, we need operational measures of network resilience that integrate two different approaches in theoretical ecology. First, we should consider the range of conditions compatible with the stable coexistence of all of the species in a community. Second, we should address the rate and shape of network collapse once this safe operational space is exited. In this review, we describe this integrative approach and consider several mechanisms that may enhance the resilience of pollinator communities, chiefly rewiring the network of interactions, increasing heterogeneity, allowing variance, and enhancing coevolution. The most pressing need is to develop ways to reduce the gap between these theoretical recommendations and practical applications. This perspective shifts the emphasis from traditional approaches focusing on the equilibrium states to strategies that allow pollination networks to cope with global environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Bascompte
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;
| | - Marten Scheffer
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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5
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Effect of Landscape Composition and Invasive Plants on Pollination Networks of Smallholder Orchards in Northeastern Thailand. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11151976. [PMID: 35956454 PMCID: PMC9370323 DOI: 10.3390/plants11151976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Destruction of natural habitat, land-use changes and biological invasion are some of the major threats to biodiversity. Both habitat alteration and biological invasions can have impacts on pollinator communities and pollination network structures. This study aims to examine the effect of an invasive plant, praxelis (Praxelis clematidea; Asteraceae), and land-use types on pollinator communities and the structure of pollination networks. We conducted the study in smallholder orchards which are either invaded or non-invaded by P. clematidea. We estimated the pollinator richness, visitation rates, and pollinator diversity and evaluated the network structures from 18 smallholder orchards in Northeastern Thailand. The effect of landscape structure in the vicinity of the orchards was investigated, with the proportion of agricultural, forest, and urban landscape within a 3 km radius analyzed. The invasive species and land-use disturbance influence the pollinator communities and pollination network structure at species level was affected by the presence of P. clematidea. Bees were the most important pollinator group for pollinator communities and pollination networks of both invaded or non-invaded plots, as bees are a generalist species, they provide the coherence of both the network and its own module. The urban landscape had a strong negative influence on pollinator richness, while the proportions of agriculture and forest landscape positively affected the pollinator community.
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6
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Bergholz K, Sittel LP, Ristow M, Jeltsch F, Weiss L. Pollinator guilds respond contrastingly at different scales to landscape parameters of land-use intensity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8708. [PMID: 35342588 PMCID: PMC8928882 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Land‐use intensification is the main factor for the catastrophic decline of insect pollinators. However, land‐use intensification includes multiple processes that act across various scales and should affect pollinator guilds differently depending on their ecology. We aimed to reveal how two main pollinator guilds, wild bees and hoverflies, respond to different land‐use intensification measures, that is, arable field cover (AFC), landscape heterogeneity (LH), and functional flower composition of local plant communities as a measure of habitat quality. We sampled wild bees and hoverflies on 22 dry grassland sites within a highly intensified landscape (NE Germany) within three campaigns using pan traps. We estimated AFC and LH on consecutive radii (60–3000 m) around the dry grassland sites and estimated the local functional flower composition. Wild bee species richness and abundance was positively affected by LH and negatively by AFC at small scales (140–400 m). In contrast, hoverflies were positively affected by AFC and negatively by LH at larger scales (500–3000 m), where both landscape parameters were negatively correlated to each other. At small spatial scales, though, LH had a positive effect on hoverfly abundance. Functional flower diversity had no positive effect on pollinators, but conspicuous flowers seem to attract abundance of hoverflies. In conclusion, landscape parameters contrarily affect two pollinator guilds at different scales. The correlation of landscape parameters may influence the observed relationships between landscape parameters and pollinators. Hence, effects of land‐use intensification seem to be highly landscape‐specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kolja Bergholz
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University Potsdam Potsdam Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
| | - Lara-Pauline Sittel
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University Potsdam Potsdam Germany.,Museum of Natural History Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Michael Ristow
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Florian Jeltsch
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University Potsdam Potsdam Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
| | - Lina Weiss
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University Potsdam Potsdam Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
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7
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Plant traits and landscape simplification drive intraspecific trait diversity of Bombus terrestris in wildflower plantings. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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8
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Mendes SB, Timóteo S, Loureiro J, Castro S. The impact of habitat loss on pollination services for a threatened dune endemic plant. Oecologia 2021; 198:279-293. [PMID: 34775515 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05070-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Habitat loss is currently a major threat to biodiversity, affecting species interactions, such as plant-pollinator interactions. This is particularly important in self-incompatible plants relying on pollinators to reproduce and sustain their populations. Here, we evaluated how habitat loss affects the pollination system, plant individual-pollinator species interaction network, and plant reproductive fitness of the self-incompatible Jasione maritima var. sabularia, a threatened taxon from dune systems. This plant is a pollinator generalist, visited by 108 species from distinct taxonomic groups. Results suggest that increasing habitat loss led to a significant decline in pollinator richness, increased pollen limitation, and a decrease in reproductive fitness of J. maritima var. sabularia. Visitation rate per individual did not significantly change with available area, indicating that the quality of pollen differed across populations. The topology of the network between J. maritima var. sabularia individuals and its pollinator species did not change, which may be attributed to the stability in the core of pollinator species. This suggests that the lower fitness of plants with increasing habitat degradation may be explained not only by the lower richness of peripheral pollinators but also by the genetic structure of the plant populations, as there is a possible higher transference of less quality pollen by pollinators, ultimately compromising the persistence of plant populations. Our study highlights the need of future studies to integrate the fine details provided by individual-level networks, which will increase our understanding of the pattern of species interactions and its consequences for the fitness of threatened plant populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Beatriz Mendes
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Sérgio Timóteo
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - João Loureiro
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Sílvia Castro
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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9
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Warzecha D, Diekötter T, Wolters V, Jauker F. Spatial configuration and landscape context of wildflower areas determine their benefits to pollinator α- and β-diversity. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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10
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Librán-Embid F, Grass I, Emer C, Ganuza C, Tscharntke T. A plant-pollinator metanetwork along a habitat fragmentation gradient. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2700-2712. [PMID: 34612562 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
To understand how plant-pollinator interactions respond to habitat fragmentation, we need novel approaches that can capture properties that emerge at broad scales, where multiple communities engage in metanetworks. Here we studied plant-pollinator interactions over 2 years on 29 calcareous grassland fragments selected along independent gradients of habitat size and surrounding landscape diversity of cover types. We associated network centrality of plant-pollinator interactions and grassland fragments with their ecological and landscape traits, respectively. Interactions involving habitat specialist plants and large-bodied pollinators were the most central, implying that species with these traits form the metanetwork core. Large fragments embedded in landscapes with high land cover diversity exhibited the highest centrality; however, small fragments harboured many unique interactions not found on larger fragments. Intensively managed landscapes have reached a point in which all remaining fragments matter, meaning that losing any further areas may vanish unique interactions with unknown consequences for ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Librán-Embid
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Zoological Biodiversity, Institute of Geobotany, Leibniz University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Carine Emer
- Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Cristina Ganuza
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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11
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Baumann K, Keune J, Wolters V, Jauker F. Distribution and pollination services of wild bees and hoverflies along an altitudinal gradient in mountain hay meadows. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:11345-11351. [PMID: 34429923 PMCID: PMC8366848 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Extensively managed and flower-rich mountain hay meadows, hotspots of Europe's biodiversity, are subject to environmental and climatic gradients linked to altitude. While the shift of pollinators from bee- to fly-dominated communities with increasing elevation across vegetation zones is well established, the effect of highland altitudinal gradients on the community structure of pollinators within a specific habitat is poorly understood. We assessed wild bee and hoverfly communities, and their pollination service to three plant species common in mountain hay meadows, in eighteen extensively managed yellow oat grasslands (Trisetum flavescens) with an altitudinal gradient spanning approx. 300 m. Species richness and abundance of pollinators increased with elevation, but no shift between hoverflies and wild bees (mainly bumblebees) occurred. Seedset of the woodland cranesbill (Geranium sylvaticum) increased with hoverfly abundance, and seedset of the marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) increased with wild bee abundance. Black rampion (Phyteuma nigrum) showed no significant response. The assignment of specific pollinator communities, and their response to altitude in highlands, to different plant species underlines the importance of wild bees and hoverflies as pollinators in extensive grassland systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Baumann
- Department of Animal EcologyJustus Liebig University GiessenGiessenGermany
| | - Julia Keune
- Department of Animal EcologyJustus Liebig University GiessenGiessenGermany
| | - Volkmar Wolters
- Department of Animal EcologyJustus Liebig University GiessenGiessenGermany
| | - Frank Jauker
- Department of Animal EcologyJustus Liebig University GiessenGiessenGermany
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12
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Lehmann DM, Camp AA. A systematic scoping review of the methodological approaches and effects of pesticide exposure on solitary bees. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251197. [PMID: 33989308 PMCID: PMC8121328 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pollination services provided by solitary bees, the largest group of bees worldwide, are critical to the vitality of ecosystems and agricultural systems alike. Disconcertingly, bee populations are in decline, and while no single causative factor has been identified, pesticides are believed to play a role in downward population trends. The effects of pesticides on solitary bee species have not been previously systematically cataloged and reviewed. OBJECTIVES This systematic scoping review examines available evidence for effects of pesticide exposure on solitary bees to identify data gaps and priority research needs. METHODS A systematic literature search strategy was developed to identify and document reports on solitary bee pesticide exposure-effects investigations. Literature was subsequently screened for relevance using a Population, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes (PECO) statement and organized into a systematic evidence map. Investigations were organized by effect category (lethal effects on immatures, lethal effects on adults, sublethal effects on immatures, and sublethal effects on adults), species, pesticide class, and publication year. RESULTS A comprehensive literature search of Web of Science and ProQuest Agricultural & Environmental Science supplemented by targeted internet searching and reference mining yielded 176 reports and publications for title and abstract screening and 65 that met PECO criteria (22 included lethal and 43 included sublethal effects endpoints). Relevant design details (pesticide, test compound configuration, study type, species, sex, exposure duration) were extracted into literature inventory tables to reveal the extent endpoints have been investigated and areas in need of additional research. CONCLUSIONS Evidence mapping revealed diversity in the pesticides and endpoints studied across the database. However, dilution across bee species, lack of complementary laboratory work and paucity of replicated investigations complicate efforts to interpret and apply available data to support pesticide risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M. Lehmann
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment (CPHEA), Health and Environmental Effects Assessment Division, Integrated Health Assessment Branch, US - Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Allison A. Camp
- ORISE Researcher, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Research Triangle Park, Oak Ridge, North Carolina, United States of America
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13
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Schroeder H, Grab H, Kessler A, Poveda K. Human-Mediated Land Use Change Drives Intraspecific Plant Trait Variation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 11:592881. [PMID: 33519849 PMCID: PMC7840540 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.592881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
In the Anthropocene, more than three quarters of ice-free land has experienced some form of human-driven habitat modification, with agriculture dominating 40% of the Earth's surface. This land use change alters the quality, availability, and configuration of habitat resources, affecting the community composition of plants and insects, as well as their interactions with each other. Landscapes dominated by agriculture are known to support a lower abundance and diversity of pollinators and frequently larger populations of key herbivore pests. In turn, insect communities subsidized by agriculture may spill into remaining natural habitats with consequences for wild plants persisting in (semi) natural habitats. Adaptive responses by wild plants may allow them to persist in highly modified landscapes; yet how landscape-mediated variation in insect communities affects wild plant traits related to reproduction and defense remains largely unknown. We synthesize the evidence for plant trait changes across land use gradients and propose potential mechanisms by which landscape-mediated changes in insect communities may be driving these trait changes. Further, we present results from a common garden experiment on three wild Brassica species demonstrating variation in both defensive and reproductive traits along an agricultural land use gradient. Our framework illustrates the potential for plant adaptation under land use change and predicts how defense and reproduction trait expression may shift in low diversity landscapes. We highlight areas of future research into plant population and community effects of land use change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hayley Schroeder
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Heather Grab
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - André Kessler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Katja Poveda
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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Ecosystem decay exacerbates biodiversity loss with habitat loss. Nature 2020; 584:238-243. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2531-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Forest fragmentation modifies the composition of bumblebee communities and modulates their trophic and competitive interactions for pollination. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10872. [PMID: 32616732 PMCID: PMC7331617 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67447-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the effects of landscape fragmentation on global bumblebee declines requires going beyond estimates of abundance and richness and evaluating changes in community composition and trophic and competitive interactions. We studied the effects of forest fragmentation in a Scandinavian landscape that combines temperate forests and croplands. For that, we evaluated how forest fragmentation features (patch size, isolation and shape complexity, percentage of forest in the surroundings) as well as local flowering communities influenced bumblebee abundance, richness and community composition in 24 forest patches along a fragmentation gradient. In addition, we assessed the effect of fragmentation on bumblebee–plant network specialization (H2′), and potential inter- and intraspecific competition via shared plants. Patch isolation was associated with lower bumblebee abundance, whereas flower density was positively related to both bumblebee abundance and richness. Overall, forest fragmentation reduced the abundance of forest-specialists while increasing the abundance of open-habitat species. Patches with complex shapes and few flowers showed more generalized bumblebee–plant networks (i.e., fewer specific interactions). Patch shape complexity and the percentage of forest also modified inter- and intraspecific competitive interactions, with habitat generalists outcompeting forest specialists in fragmented areas. Understanding these mechanisms is necessary to anticipate to the impact of forest fragmentation on bumblebee decline.
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How accurate are estimates of flower visitation rates by pollinators? Lessons from a spatially explicit agent-based model. ECOL INFORM 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2020.101077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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