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Neacă AM, Meis J, Knight T, Rakosy D. Intensive pasture management alters the composition and structure of plant-pollinator interactions in Sibiu, Romania. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16900. [PMID: 38435994 PMCID: PMC10909354 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Land management change towards intensive grazing has been shown to alter plant and pollinator communities and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions in different ways across the world. Land-use intensification in Eastern Europe is shifting highly diverse, traditionally managed hay meadows towards intensive pastures, but few studies have examined how this influences plant-pollinator networks. We hypothesized that the effects of intensive grazing on networks will depend on how plant communities and their floral traits change. Methods We investigated plant and pollinator diversity and composition and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions near Sibiu, Romania at sites that were traditionally managed as hay meadows or intensive pastures. We quantified the identity and abundance of flowering plants, and used transect walks to observe pollinator genera interacting with flowering plant species. We evaluated the effects of management on diversity, composition and several indices of network structure. Results Pollinator but not plant diversity declined in pastures and both plant and pollinator taxonomic composition shifted. Functional diversity and composition remained unchanged, with rather specialized flowers having been found to dominate in both hay meadows and pastures. Apis mellifera was found to be the most abundant pollinator. Its foraging preferences played a crucial role in shaping plant-pollinator network structure. Apis mellifera thus preferred the highly abundant Dorycnium herbaceum in hay meadows, leading to hay meadows networks with lower Shannon diversity and interaction evenness. In pastures, however, it preferred less abundant and more generalized flower resources. With pollinators being overall less abundant and more generalized in pastures, we found that niche overlap between plants was higher. Discussion With both hay meadows and pastures being dominated by plant species with similar floral traits, shifts in pollinator preferences seem to have driven the observed changes in plant-pollinator interaction networks. We thus conclude that the effects of grazing on pollinators and their interactions are likely to depend on the traits of plant species present in different management types as well as on the effects of grazing on plant community composition. We thereby highlight the need for better understanding how floral abundance shapes pollinator visitation rates and how floral traits may influence this relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Maria Neacă
- Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Julia Meis
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tiffany Knight
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Demetra Rakosy
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
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Cortés‐Fernández I, Cerrato MD, Ribas‐Serra A, Ferrà X, Gil‐Vives L. The role of
E. maritimum
(L.) in the dune pollination network of the Balearic Islands. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9164. [PMID: 35949534 PMCID: PMC9353020 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Iván Cortés‐Fernández
- Interdisciplinary Ecology Group Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa Palma de Mallorca Spain
| | - Marcello Dante Cerrato
- Interdisciplinary Ecology Group Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa Palma de Mallorca Spain
| | - Arnau Ribas‐Serra
- Interdisciplinary Ecology Group Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa Palma de Mallorca Spain
| | - Xavier Canyelles Ferrà
- Interdisciplinary Ecology Group Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa Palma de Mallorca Spain
| | - Lorenzo Gil‐Vives
- Interdisciplinary Ecology Group Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa Palma de Mallorca Spain
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Rakosy D, Motivans E, Ştefan V, Nowak A, Świerszcz S, Feldmann R, Kühn E, Geppert C, Venkataraman N, Sobieraj-Betlińska A, Grossmann A, Rojek W, Pochrząst K, Cielniak M, Gathof AK, Baumann K, Knight TM. Intensive grazing alters the diversity, composition and structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks in Central European grasslands. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263576. [PMID: 35275933 PMCID: PMC8916670 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex socio-economic, political and demographic factors have driven the increased conversion of Europe's semi-natural grasslands to intensive pastures. This trend is particularly strong in some of the most biodiverse regions of the continent, such as Central and Eastern Europe. Intensive grazing is known to decrease species diversity and alter the composition of plant and insect communities. Comparatively little is known, however, about how intensive grazing influences plant functional traits related to pollination and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions. In traditional hay meadows and intensive pastures in Central Europe, we contrasted the taxonomic and functional group diversity and composition, the structure of plant-pollinator interactions and the roles of individual species in networks. We found mostly lower taxonomic and functional diversity of plants and insects in intensive pastures, as well as strong compositional differences among the two grassland management types. Intensive pastures were dominated by a single plant with a specialized flower structure that is only accessible to a few pollinator groups. As a result, intensive pastures have lower diversity and specificity of interactions, higher amount of resource overlap, more uniform interaction strength and lower network modularity. These findings stand in contrast to studies in which plants with more generalized flower traits dominated pastures. Our results thus highlight the importance of the functional traits of dominant species in mediating the consequences of intensive pasture management on plant-pollinator networks. These findings could further contribute to strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of intensive grazing on plant and pollinator communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Demetra Rakosy
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Motivans
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Valentin Ştefan
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Arkadiusz Nowak
- Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland
| | - Sebastian Świerszcz
- Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Warsaw, Poland
- Polish Academy of Sciences, The Franciszek Górski Institute of Plant Physiology, Opole, Poland
| | - Reinart Feldmann
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Kühn
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Costanza Geppert
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova School of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Padova, Italy
| | - Neeraja Venkataraman
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Anna Sobieraj-Betlińska
- Department of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Anita Grossmann
- Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Sciences/Plant Ecology, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wiktoria Rojek
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Pochrząst
- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland
| | | | - Anika Kirstin Gathof
- Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Sciences/Plant Ecology, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kevin Baumann
- IFZ–Department for Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
| | - Tiffany Marie Knight
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Chakraborti U, Mitra B, Bhadra K. Island Based Assemblage Pattern and Foraging Profile of Insect Flower Visitors on Aegialitis rotundifolia -a Near Threatened Mangrove Plant from Indian Sundarban. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 51:32-42. [PMID: 34546551 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-021-00911-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the association pattern and foraging behaviour of flower visitors is crucial to determine their role in the interaction with plants. To analyse the insect flower visitor association as well as their foraging profile on Aegialitis rotundifolia Roxb.-a near threatened mangrove plant, present study has been conducted among four islands of Indian Sundarban for three consecutive years. Results using first three Hill numbers depicted that, the species richness and Shannon and Simpson diversity of flower visitors were higher among the islands situated far from the sea than the islands neighbouring to the sea. NMDS analysis showed moderately ordinate data structure for island-year-based flower visitor association. Furthermore, network analysis for island-based visitor assemblage showed a significantly generalised network with no specialisation among islands. Five abundant visitors were further analysed for foraging profile, where the highest foraging rate was shown by Apis dorsata Fabricius, 1793 and the highest handling time was shown by Micraspis discolor (Fabricius, 1798). Moreover, all the visitors except M. discolor showed a significant variation in their foraging rate among different time frames. Furthermore, only M. discolor showed significant variation in their foraging behaviour when compared individually with each visitor in all the time frames. Present findings conclude that, flower visitors showed a generalised assemblage pattern among islands. Both honey bees provided excellent foraging on this plant and butterflies were good foragers too. Therefore, to device conservation strategies for this plant, protection of flower visitors must be of paramount concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Udipta Chakraborti
- Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, Kalyani, India
| | | | - Kakali Bhadra
- Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, Kalyani, India.
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Del Vecchio S, Mattana E, Ulian T, Buffa G. Functional seed traits and germination patterns predict species coexistence in Northeast Mediterranean foredune communities. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2021; 127:361-370. [PMID: 33090204 PMCID: PMC7872124 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The structure of plant communities, which is based on species abundance ratios, is closely linked to ecosystem functionality. Seed germination niche plays a major role in shaping plant communities, although it has often been neglected when explaining species coexistence. The aim of this work is to link the seed germination niche to community ecology, investigating how functional seed traits contribute to species coexistence. METHODS Species selection was based on a database of 504 vegetation surveys from the Veneto coast (Italy). Through cluster analysis we identified the foredune community and selected all of its 19 plant species. By using the 'Phi coefficient' and frequency values, species were pooled in different categories (foundation species, accidental species of the semi-fixed dune and aliens), then the 19 species were grouped according to their germination responses to temperature and photoperiod through cluster analyses. For each germination cluster, we investigated germination trends against temperature and photoperiod by using generalized linear mixed models. KEY RESULTS We identified four germination strategies: (1) high germination under all tested conditions ('high-germinating'); (2) high germination at warm temperatures in the dark ('dark warm-cued'); (3) high germination at warm temperatures in the light ('light warm-cued'); and (4) low germination, regardless of conditions ('low-germinating'). Foredune foundation species showed a narrow germination niche, being 'low-germinating' or 'dark warm-cued'. Annual species of semi-fixed dunes were 'high-germinating', while alien species were the only members of the 'light warm-cued' cluster. CONCLUSIONS Our research suggests that different categories of species have dissimilar seed germination niches, which contributes to explaining their coexistence. Climatic events, such as rising temperature, could alter germination patterns, favouring seed regeneration of certain categories (i.e. alien and semi-fixed dune species) at the expense of others (i.e. foundation species, pivotal to ecosystem functioning), and hence potentially altering the plant community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Del Vecchio
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
| | - Efisio Mattana
- Natural Capital and Plant Health, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, UK
| | - Tiziana Ulian
- Natural Capital and Plant Health, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, UK
| | - Gabriella Buffa
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
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