Pollinator‐mediated plant coexistence requires high levels of pollinator specialization

Bruninga‐Socolar, Bethanne; Socolar, Jacob B.; Konzmann, Sabine; Lunau, Klaus

doi:10.1002/ece3.10349

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Pollinator behavior, including innate and learned cue preferences, play a key role in driving the evolution of floral traits (Schiestl and Johnson 2013;Haverkamp et al 2018;Finnell and Koski 2021;Lanterman et al 2023). Pollination biologists have also considered how pollinators switch among plant species as they forage because switching has implications for the effectiveness of pollen transfer (Bateman 1951;Waser 1983Waser , 1986Janovsky et al 2017;Bruninga-Socolar et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Preference and Switching in Flower Foraging by Bees

Papaj,

Russell

2023

Preprint

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It seems self-evident that generalist foragers switch more between resources than specialists but despite diverse ecological and evolutionary implications, how variation in switching relates to variation in preference warrants additional study. Here we tested predictions based on a simple probability model, using flower-foraging bees as a model system. In laboratory assays, we presented bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) workers with flowers of two species,Tecoma stansandT. alata, from which they could collect nectar and/or pollen. We quantified landing preference and occurrence of switching between species in successive visits. Bees varied greatly in floral preference. Almost half showed statistically significant preferences for one or the other species, while the rest were generalists. As expected, generalists using both flower species switched more in successive visits than bees that were more specialized, a pattern fit to a quadratic function. However, generalist individuals switched more than expected based on null expectation. A Modified Jacob’s Index (MJI) of switching was significantly positively correlated with degree of preference: generalist bees had more negative MJI’s than specialist bees, indicating that even after the expected statistical effect of preference on switching was accounted for, they switched more than specialists. A simulation ruled out the possibility that the pattern was due to bias in MJI. Generalist-specialist differences in which food was collected (nectar versus pollen) were also ruled out. We discuss possible explanations for our observed pattern and outline possible ways in which preference and switching frequency will interact to shape pollinator behavior and the floral resource.Significance statementBehavioral preference is the subject of a large literature in areas such as foraging, mating and communication. However, a preference measure alone does not necessarily tell us if choices for one alternative are made in runs or intermingled with choices for another alternative. The distinction between preference and the sequential pattern of choices is relevant in many contexts in behavioral ecology but has been a particular focus of study in flower foraging by pollinators. Even in that literature, the relationship between preference and sequential pattern in switching warrants further examination. In our study, bees were shown to vary in preference for flowers of two species. Some were generalists; some were specialists on one or the other species. Generalist bees switched more than specialist bees, even after controlling for statistical effects of preference on switching frequency. The report of this generalist-specialist pattern in switching may be novel and has far-reaching implications throughout the field of behavioral ecology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Preference and Switching in Flower Foraging by Bees

Papaj,

Russell

2023

Preprint

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Pollinator‐mediated plant coexistence requires high levels of pollinator specialization

Bruninga‐Socolar

Socolar

Konzmann

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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In pollen‐limited plant communities, the foraging behavior of pollinators might mediate coexistence and competitive exclusion of plant species by determining which plants receive conspecific pollen. A key question is whether realistic pollinator foraging behavior promotes coexistence or exclusion of plant species. We use a simulation model to understand how pollinator foraging behavior impacts the coexistence dynamics of pollen‐limited plants. To determine whether pollinators are likely to provide a biologically important coexistence mechanism, we compare our results to bee foraging data from the literature and from a novel experimental analysis. Model results indicate that strong specialization at the level of individual foraging paths is required to promote coexistence. However, few empirical studies have robustly quantified within‐bout specialization. Species‐level data suggest that foraging behavior is sufficient to permit pollinator‐mediated coexistence in species‐poor plant communities and possibly in diverse communities where congeneric plants co‐occur. Our experiments using bumblebees show that individual‐level specialization does exist, but not at levels sufficient to substantially impact coexistence dynamics. The literature on specialization within natural foraging paths suffers from key limitations, but overall suggests that pollinator‐mediated coexistence should be rare in diverse plant communities.

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The relationship between preference and switching in flower foraging by bees

Papaj,

Russell

2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Pollinator‐mediated plant coexistence requires high levels of pollinator specialization

Cited by 3 publications

References 90 publications

The Relationship Between Preference and Switching in Flower Foraging by Bees

The Relationship Between Preference and Switching in Flower Foraging by Bees

Pollinator‐mediated plant coexistence requires high levels of pollinator specialization

The relationship between preference and switching in flower foraging by bees

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