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Invasive mutualists erode native pollination webs.

Marcelo A Aizen1, Carolina L Morales, Juan M Morales

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Invasive species in plant-pollinator webs weaken mutualism by shifting interactions to alien species. This alters native species connectivity and can impact ecological dynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Conservation Biology
  • Community Ecology

Background:

  • Plant-animal mutualisms, particularly plant-pollinator interactions, are crucial for ecosystem functioning.
  • Invasive species can disrupt established ecological networks, potentially altering community stability and species persistence.
  • The impact of alien mutualists on the structure and stability of plant-pollinator webs is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how alien species influence the structure of plant-pollinator webs.
  • To assess the relationship between the incidence of alien species and mutualism strength (mutual dependency).
  • To determine the effects of alien mutualist integration on network connectivity and species interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mutual dependency (mutualism strength) and network connectivity in 10 paired plant-pollinator webs.
  • Comparison of webs with varying levels of alien species incidence from forest and island ecosystems.
  • Quantification of the role and participation of native and alien species in network interactions.

Main Results:

  • Highly invaded plant-pollinator webs exhibited weaker mutualism compared to less-invaded webs.
  • Alien species disproportionately participated in asymmetric interactions, potentially increasing network stability.
  • Overall network connectivity remained unchanged, but links shifted from generalist native species to super-generalist alien species, reducing native species connectivity.

Conclusions:

  • Alien mutualists can restructure plant-pollinator webs by dominating asymmetric interactions.
  • The integration of alien species leads to a decline in connectivity among native species.
  • These structural modifications driven by alien mutualists can expose native species to new ecological and evolutionary pressures.