Spatial heterogeneity regulates plant-pollinator networks across multiple landscape scales.

Eduardo Freitas Moreira, Danilo Boscolo, Blandina Felipe Viana
Author Information
  1. Eduardo Freitas Moreira: Zoology Department, Federal University of Bahia, UFBA, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
  2. Danilo Boscolo: Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, FFCLRP-USP, São Paulo, Brazil.
  3. Blandina Felipe Viana: Zoology Department, Federal University of Bahia, UFBA, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Abstract

Mutualistic plant-pollinator interactions play a key role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning. In a community, the combination of these interactions can generate emergent properties, e.g., robustness and resilience to disturbances such as fluctuations in populations and extinctions. Given that these systems are hierarchical and complex, environmental changes must have multiple levels of influence. In addition, changes in habitat quality and in the landscape structure are important threats to plants, pollinators and their interactions. However, despite the importance of these phenomena for the understanding of biological systems, as well as for conservation and management strategies, few studies have empirically evaluated these effects at the network level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of local conditions and landscape structure at multiple scales on the characteristics of plant-pollinator networks. This study was conducted in agri-natural lands in Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Pollinators were collected in 27 sampling units distributed orthogonally along a gradient of proportion of agriculture and landscape diversity. The Akaike information criterion was used to select models that best fit the metrics for network characteristics, comparing four hypotheses represented by a set of a priori candidate models with specific combinations of the proportion of agriculture, the average shape of the landscape elements, the diversity of the landscape and the structure of local vegetation. The results indicate that a reduction of habitat quality and landscape heterogeneity can cause species loss and decrease of networks nestedness. These structural changes can reduce robustness and resilience of plant-pollinator networks what compromises the reproductive success of plants, the maintenance of biodiversity and the pollination service stability. We also discuss the possible explanations for these relationships and the implications for landscape planning in agricultural areas.

References

  1. Ecol Appl. 2010 Sep;20(6):1491-7 [PMID: 20945753]
  2. Science. 2006 Apr 21;312(5772):431-3 [PMID: 16627742]
  3. Nature. 2009 Apr 23;458(7241):1018-20 [PMID: 19396144]
  4. Ecol Appl. 2009 Sep;19(6):1561-73 [PMID: 19769103]
  5. Funct Ecol. 2011 Dec;25(6):1284-1292 [PMID: 22267886]
  6. Science. 2013 Mar 29;339(6127):1608-11 [PMID: 23449997]
  7. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Oct 28;100(22):12765-70 [PMID: 14569008]
  8. Ann Bot. 2009 Jun;103(9):1445-57 [PMID: 19304996]
  9. Ecology. 2009 Aug;90(8):2068-76 [PMID: 19739369]
  10. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2012 Aug;87(3):661-85 [PMID: 22272640]
  11. J Theor Biol. 2007 Nov 21;249(2):307-13 [PMID: 17897679]
  12. Curr Biol. 2007 Feb 20;17(4):341-6 [PMID: 17275300]
  13. J Anim Ecol. 2010 May;79(3):674-81 [PMID: 20233258]
  14. Proc Biol Sci. 2010 Jul 7;277(1690):2075-82 [PMID: 20219735]
  15. Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Feb 7;274(1608):303-13 [PMID: 17164193]
  16. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Apr 5;108(14):5909-14 [PMID: 21422295]
  17. J Anim Ecol. 2010 Mar;79(2):491-500 [PMID: 20015213]
  18. Ecol Lett. 2008 Mar;11(3):208-16 [PMID: 18070101]
  19. Oecologia. 2007 Mar;151(3):442-53 [PMID: 17080257]
  20. Ecol Lett. 2006 Aug;9(8):968-80 [PMID: 16913941]
  21. Ecol Lett. 2008 May;11(5):499-515 [PMID: 18294214]
  22. Ecol Lett. 2013 May;16(5):584-99 [PMID: 23489285]
  23. Ecol Lett. 2011 Feb;14(2):101-12 [PMID: 21087380]

MeSH Term

Biota
Brazil
Environment
Models, Biological
Plant Physiological Phenomena
Pollination
Spatial Analysis

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0landscapeplant-pollinatornetworksinteractionscanchangesmultiplestructurebiodiversityconservationrobustnessresiliencesystemsinfluencehabitatqualityplantsnetworkstudylocalscalescharacteristicsproportionagriculturediversitymodelsheterogeneityMutualisticplaykeyroleecosystemfunctioningcommunitycombinationgenerateemergentpropertiesegdisturbancesfluctuationspopulationsextinctionsGivenhierarchicalcomplexenvironmentalmustlevelsadditionimportantthreatspollinatorsHoweverdespiteimportancephenomenaunderstandingbiologicalwellmanagementstrategiesstudiesempiricallyevaluatedeffectslevelThereforeobjectiveinvestigateconditionsconductedagri-naturallandsChapadaDiamantinaBahiaBrazilPollinatorscollected27samplingunitsdistributedorthogonallyalonggradientAkaikeinformationcriterionusedselectbestfitmetricscomparingfourhypothesesrepresentedsetprioricandidatespecificcombinationsaverageshapeelementsvegetationresultsindicatereductioncausespecieslossdecreasenestednessstructuralreducecompromisesreproductivesuccessmaintenancepollinationservicestabilityalsodiscusspossibleexplanationsrelationshipsimplicationsplanningagriculturalareasSpatialregulatesacross

Similar Articles

Cited By