Pollinator visitation rate and effectiveness vary with flowering phenology

Flowering time may influence pollination success and seed set through a variety of mechanisms, including seasonal changes in total pollinator visitation or the composition and effectiveness of pollinator visitors.

We investigated mechanisms by which changes in flowering phenology influence pollination and reproductive success of Mertensia ciliata (Boraginaceae). We manipulated flowering onset of potted plants and assessed the frequency and composition of pollinator visitors, as well as seed set. We tested whether floral visitors differed in their effectiveness as pollinators by measuring pollen receipt and seed set resulting from single visits to virgin flowers.

Despite a five-fold decrease in pollinator visitation over four weeks, we detected no significant difference in seed set among plants blooming at different times. On a per-visit basis, each bumblebee transferred more conspecific pollen than did a solitary bee or a fly. The proportion of visits by bumblebees increased over the season, countering the decrease in visitation rate so that flowering time had little net effect on seed set.

This work illustrates the need to consider pollinator effectiveness, along with changes in pollinator visitation and species composition to understand the mechanisms by which phenology affects levels of pollination.