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Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
Published on: November 25, 2016
Pollinator Behavior Mediates Negative Interactions between Two Congeneric Invasive Plant Species
Suann Yang1, Matthew J Ferrari, Katriona Shea
1Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA. suy14@psu.edu
The American Naturalist
|December 2, 2010
Summary
Two invasive plants, Carduus acanthoides and Carduus nutans, negatively interact through pollinators. Pollinator behavior, driven by floral display size, reduced seed set for both species when grown together.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Botany
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Simultaneously flowering plant species can interact indirectly by altering pollinator activity and pollen transfer.
- Pollinator responses to floral resources at multiple scales influence these indirect interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate pollinator-mediated interactions between two invasive plant species: Carduus acanthoides and Carduus nutans.
- To determine how plant co-occurrence affects pollinator visitation and seed production.
Main Methods:
- Constructed arrays of C. acanthoides and C. nutans, both alone and in mixtures.
- Quantified pollinator visitation at patch and individual plant levels.
- Measured seed production and analyzed pollinator movement using a spatially explicit model.
Main Results:
- Co-occurrence of the two species shifted pollinator services, with greater interference in smaller arrays and wider plant spacing.
- Pollinator foraging behavior was primarily influenced by floral display size, not species identity.
- Pollinator behavior significantly reduced seed set for both species compared to single-species arrays.
Conclusions:
- Pollinator-mediated interactions between invasive plants can range from facilitative to competitive.
- Plant patch size, spacing, and composition significantly influence pollinator behavior and subsequent plant interactions.
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