Effects of experimental shifts in flowering phenology on plant-pollinator interactions

Rafferty, Nicole E.; Ives, Anthony R.

doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01557.x

Cited by 202 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…However, data on changes in pollinator phenology and on corresponding changes in the plants they pollinate are scarce. Two short-term observational studies provide evidence that a focal plant species and its pollinators may experience some mismatch when spring advances (25,26), but this does not have to be the case (27). Here we used long-term data to compare phenological shifts for 10 bee species to shifts in 106 native plant species that are visited by these same bee species.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants

Bartomeus

Ascher²,

Wagner³

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

436

397

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The phenology of many ecological processes is modulated by temperature, making them potentially sensitive to climate change. Mutualistic interactions may be especially vulnerable because of the potential for phenological mismatching if the species involved do not respond similarly to changes in temperature. Here we present an analysis of climate-associated shifts in the phenology of wild bees, the most important pollinators worldwide, and compare these shifts to published studies of bee-pollinated plants over the same time period. We report that over the past 130 y, the phenology of 10 bee species from northeastern North America has advanced by a mean of 10.4 ± 1.3 d. Most of this advance has taken place since 1970, paralleling global temperature increases. When the best available data are used to estimate analogous rates of advance for plants, these rates are not distinguishable from those of bees, suggesting that bee emergence is keeping pace with shifts in host-plant flowering, at least among the generalist species that we investigated. C limate warming over the past 50 y is associated with phenological advances in a wide variety of organisms including plants, birds, and insects (1-3). Responses to climate warming are particularly important to understand for species that provide critical ecological functions such as pollinators. Furthermore, many ecological functions result from interactions among species, and because not all species respond to climate warming in the same manner, this could potentially lead to phenological mismatches that result in the loss of function (4-6). Alternatively, the interacting species may be buffered against climate variation if they have evolved similar responses to environmental variation (7). Here we present an analysis of climate-associated shifts in the phenology of wild bee pollinators, and compare the rates of advance for bees to those of bee-pollinated plants from the same region.Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) are the primary animal pollinators in most ecosystems (8). However, there is only one study of climate-associated phenological shifts in bees, and this focused on a single managed species, the honey bee (9). The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) represents a special case relative to the ∼19,700 described species of bees existing worldwide (10), first, because it is a domesticated species, and second, because it is one of the minority of perennial bee species, meaning that adults remain active over the winter and regulate hive temperatures in temperate latitudes. In contrast, most wild bee species outside the tropics have annual cycles that include an obligatory larval or adult diapause before spring emergence. The development of bees and the environmental triggers regulating seasonal activity are largely unknown, and the few species studied show complex responses to both winter and spring temperatures (11,12). Thus, although we would predict phenological shifts in bee activity due to climate change, the directionality and magnitude of these shifts are difficult...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants

Bartomeus

Ascher²,

Wagner³

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

436

397

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“…Not all plant-pollinator mutualisms are at risk due to climate change (Rafferty and Ives 2011), It also affects populations isolated by habitat fragmentation, possibly limiting the expansion of bee-dependent plant species that may shift, especially for native bees (Opdam and Wascher 2004). Thus, encouraging the diversity and yield of native plants may foster the growth and sustainability of native bee populations, which are currently in decline and are also important pollinators (Luck et al 2003;Kremen et al 2002).…”

Section: Global Warmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honeybee Communication and Pollination

Suwannapong¹,

Eiri²,

Benbow³

2012

New Perspectives in Plant Protection

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“…Much recent literature focuses on effects on phenology, especially within the context of anthropogenic climate change (see Visser and Both, 2005;Donnelly et al, 2011;Rafferty and Ives, 2011), but seasonal variation is also evident in the abundance and activity of organisms, even enabling the co-existence of different species and so increasing diversity (Shimadzu et al, 2013). Insects are particularly susceptible to seasonality, with profound seasonal effects observed for several aspects of insect ecology including phenology, diapause behaviour and activity levels (Wolda, 1988;Pinheiro et al, 2002;Barrow and Parr, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal activity patterns of African savanna termites vary across a rainfall gradient

et al. 2015

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Seasonal variations in temperature and moisture are strong drivers of biological activity and diversity. Termites are an important insect group previously shown to respond to seasonal variation, but results are mixed with unclear patterns across habitat types. We investigated seasonal variation in termite species density, activity levels and assemblage composition across three seasons (wet, transitional and dry) and four savanna types across a rainfall gradient (450 mm.yr -1 -900 mm.yr -1 ) in South Africa using cellulose baits. Termites responded to seasonality in all savannas investigated, with lower species density and activity levels during the dry season compared to the wet and transitional seasons. In the more arid sites (≤ 550mm rainfall per year) activity levels were highest in the wet season, while at wetter sites (≥750mm rainfall per year) the highest activity was recorded in the transitional season. Assemblage composition did not differ much between seasons across all sites, but differences in both composition and activity levels across seasons were more pronounced in wetter sites compared to drier ones. Our results demonstrate that seasonal patterns in termite diversity vary with mean annual rainfall, with larger variation in wetter habitats where climatic variation between seasons is greater.

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Effects of experimental shifts in flowering phenology on plant-pollinator interactions

Cited by 202 publications

References 47 publications

Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants

Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants

Honeybee Communication and Pollination

Seasonal activity patterns of African savanna termites vary across a rainfall gradient

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