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Globally, human activities impose threats to nature and the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination. In this context, ecological restoration provides opportunities to create managed landscapes that maximize biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture, e.g., via provision of pollination services. Managing pollination services and restoration opportunities requires the engagement of distinct stakeholders embedded in diverse social institutions. Nevertheless, frameworks toward sustainable agriculture often overlook how stakeholders interact and access power in social arenas. We present a perspective integrating pollination services, ecological restoration, and public engagement for biodiversity conservation and agricultural production. We highlight the importance of a comprehensive assessment of pollination services, restoration opportunities identification, and a public engagement strategy anchored in institutional analysis of the social arenas involved in restoration efforts. Our perspective can therefore guide the implementation of practices from local to country scales to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture.
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BACKGROUND: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. RESULTS: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant-pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant-pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant-pollinator interactions. CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant-pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of terms.
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Ecossistema , Polinização , Animais , Biodiversidade , Filogenia , Padrões de ReferênciaRESUMO
Facilitation and competition among plants sharing pollinators have contrasting consequences for plant fitness. However, it is unclear whether pollinator-mediated facilitation and competition may affect pollen limitation (potential contribution of pollination to fitness) in pollination networks. Here, we investigated how pollinator sharing affects pollen limitation in a tropical hummingbird-pollinated community marked by facilitation. We employed indices describing how much a plant species potentially affects the pollination of other co-flowering species through shared pollinators (acting degree) and is affected by other co-flowering species (target degree) within the plant-hummingbird network. Since facilitation often increases pollination quantity but not necessarily quality, we expected both indices to be associated with reductions in pollen limitation estimates that depend on pollination quantity (fruit set and seed number) rather than estimates more strictly related to quality (seed weight and germination). We found that both indices were associated with reductions in pollen limitation only for seed weight and germination. Thus, facilitation occurred via qualitative estimates of pollen limitation. Our results suggest that facilitation may enhance plant fitness estimates even if quantitative components of plant fecundity are already saturated. Overall, we showed that pollinator-mediated indirect effects in a multispecies context are important drivers of plant fitness estimates with consequences for coexistence in diverse communities.
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Flores , Polinização , Animais , Aves , Plantas , PólenRESUMO
Flowering plant species and their nectar-feeding vertebrates exemplify some of the most remarkable biotic interactions in the Neotropics. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, several species of birds (especially hummingbirds), bats, and non-flying mammals, as well as one lizard feed on nectar, often act as pollinators and contribute to seed output of flowering plants. We present a dataset containing information on flowering plants visited by nectar-feeding vertebrates and sampled at 166 localities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This dataset provides information on 1902 unique interactions among 515 species of flowering plants and 129 species of potential vertebrate pollinators and the patterns of species diversity across latitudes. All plant-vertebrate interactions compiled were recorded through direct observations of visits, and no inferences of pollinators based on floral syndromes were included. We also provide information on the most common plant traits used to understand the interactions between flowers and nectar-feeding vertebrates: plant growth form, corolla length, rate of nectar production per hour in bagged flowers, nectar concentration, flower color and shape, time of anthesis, presence or absence of perceptible fragrance by human, and flowering phenology as well as the plant's threat status by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification. For the vertebrates, status of threat by IUCN classification, body mass, bill or rostrum size are provided. Information on the frequency of visits and pollen deposition on the vertebrate's body is provided from the original source when available. The highest number of unique interactions is recorded for birds (1771) followed by bats (110). For plants, Bromeliaceae contains the highest number of unique interactions (606), followed by Fabaceae (242) and Gesneriaceae (104). It is evident that there was geographical bias of the studies throughout the southeast of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and that most effort was directed to flower-hummingbird interactions. However, it reflects a worldwide tendency of more plants interacting with birds compared with other vertebrate species. The lack of similar protocols among studies to collect basic data limits the comparisons among areas and generalizations. Nevertheless, this dataset represents a notable effort to organize and highlight the importance of vertebrate pollinators in this hotspot of biodiversity on Earth and represents the data currently available. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or scientific events.
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Néctar de Plantas , Polinização , Animais , Aves , Flores , Florestas , Humanos , MamíferosRESUMO
Abstract Interactions between plant and pollinators are associated with the origin and maintenance of species diversity, as well as ecosystem functioning. The potential of pollination as an ecosystem service is evidenced by its association with food production. Understanding pollination at the landscape scale is essential for characterizing the pollination service for several crops that depend on pollinators for fruit and seed set that make up the human diet. Our aim was to carry out a literature review of studies and projects funded by BIOTA/FAPESP to illustrate the main research approaches developed in the field of Pollination Biology, especially related to plant-pollinator interactions. Plant-pollinator interactions in the Atlantic forest were leveraged as a result of this long-term research program, during which several papers were published in international journals. Pollination by bees (melittophily) was the most representative pollination system studied. In addition to melittophily, other interactions were studied such as pollination by hawkmoths (sphingophily), by hummingbirds (ornithophily) and by bats (chiropterophily). The specific mutualistic relationships between fig trees and fig wasps were also subject of studies within the Program. At the beginning of the BIOTA/FAPESP Program, there were many gaps in basic information about pollination and breeding systems of Brazilian native plant species. Thus, the Program was fundamental to fuel research on the natural history of plants and pollinators from the Atlantic forest. Overall, the Program funded studies that investigated themes such as functional pollination ecology, pollinator effectiveness, plant population genetics, structure and dynamics of plant-pollinator interaction networks, as well as geographic distribution and macroevolution of pollination systems, as well as genetic and molecular studies of native plant populations focusing on pollen flow and genetic structure of populations. Additionally, studies on pollination in the context of landscape ecology had the aim of assessing the effects of forest fragmentation on the functioning of plant populations and their interactions with pollinators and the relationships between landscape structure and ecological processes, biodiversity, and ecosystem service. Therefore, the Program had a prominent role in producing basic data with great implications for understanding the ecology and promoting the conservation of plant-pollinator interactions.
Resumo A interação planta-polinizador está associada à origem e manutenção da diversidade de espécies de plantas e ao funcionamento dos ecossistemas. O potencial da polinização como serviço ecossistêmico é destacado quando associado à produção de alimentos. Compreender esta interação na escala da paisagem é essencial para caracterizar o serviço de polinização para muitos cultivos que dependem dos polinizadores para a formação de frutos e sementes que integram a dieta humana. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma revisão bibliográfica de estudos e projetos financiados pelo BIOTA/FAPESP para ilustrar as principais abordagens de pesquisa desenvolvidas no campo da Biologia da Polinização, especialmente relacionadas à interação planta-polinizador. As interações planta-polinizador na Mata Atlântica foram alavancadas como resultado desse programa de pesquisa de longo prazo, durante o qual vários artigos foram publicados em revistas internacionais. A polinização por abelhas (melitofilia) foi o sistema de polinização mais representativo estudado. Além da melitofilia, outras interações foram estudadas, como a polinização por mariposas (esfingofilia), por beija-flores (ornitofilia) e por morcegos (quiropterofilia). As relações mutualísticas específicas entre figueiras e vespas do figo também foram objeto de estudos no âmbito do Programa. No início do Programa BIOTA/FAPESP, havia muitas lacunas sobre informações básicas sobre polinização e sistemas de reprodução de espécies vegetais nativas brasileiras. Assim, o Programa foi fundamental para desenvolver pesquisas sobre a história natural de plantas e polinizadores da Mata Atlântica. No geral, o Programa financiou estudos que investigaram temas como ecologia funcional da polinização, eficácia de polinizadores, genética de populações de plantas, estrutura e dinâmica de redes de interação planta-polinizador, bem como distribuição geográfica e macroevolução dos sistemas de polinização, além de estudos genéticos e moleculares de populações de plantas nativas com foco no fluxo de pólen. Adicionalmente, estudos sobre polinização no contexto da ecologia da paisagem tiveram como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da fragmentação florestal no funcionamento das populações de plantas e suas interações com os polinizadores e as relações entre a estrutura da paisagem e os processos ecológicos, biodiversidade e serviços ecossistêmicos. Portanto, o Programa teve um papel de destaque na produção de dados básicos com grandes implicações para o entendimento da ecologia e promoção da conservação das interações planta-polinizador.
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In vitro rearing protocols already established for honeybees are currently being adapted to assess the risk of pesticides, and to conduct comparative developmental biology studies on stingless bees. However, differences in critical life-history traits (development time and the type of larval nutrition leading to caste differentiation process) among social bees require the development of an in vitro rearing protocol for each species and caste. We generated a protocol to produce workers of Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier, 1836), a non-endangered and highly eusocial pollinator species with wide geographical distribution. We tested the viability of using either the eggs or the first instar larvae as the starting point for in-vitro transfer. In vitro rearing was performed in acrylic plates at 30 °C and 99% relative humidity during the larval feeding phase. The humidity was subsequently reduced to 75% during the following days of development. The experimental larvae were offered either 25 µL or 27 µL of larval food. The development time, emergence and mortality rates, and morphological parameters of the emerged workers were assessed. In the process of validating the protocol, the adults that emerged after in vitro rearing were compared with colony-reared adults. In our results, 27 µL of larval food allowed 90% of workers to emerge. No significant differences were found between the emerging workers reared in vitro and those reared in the colony. The described protocol is a useful method for rearing F. varia workers in vitro, which can be used for diverse types of experimental approaches.
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Animais , Abelhas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Criação de Abelhas/métodos , Técnicas In Vitro/métodosRESUMO
Pollination and reproduction are important processes for understanding plant community dynamics. Information regarding pollination and reproduction is urgent for threatened ecosystems, such as tropical montane ecosystems. In tropical mountains, pollination patterns are expected to conform to the reproductive assurance theory (due to low pollinator activity) and old, climatically buffered and infertile landscapes (OCBIL) theory (due to restricted plant range size). For 82 plant species of the Itatiaia National Park (including endemic and endangered species), we evaluated at least one of the following features: pollinator identity, flower color and size, flowering phenology, and pollinator dependence. Most plant species (ca. 60%) were pollinated by two or more functional groups of pollinators (generalized pollination), with high importance of flies as pollinators. There was low pollinator activity overall (less than one visit per flower per hour). Notably, the invasive honeybee Apis mellifera L. performed half of the visits to this entire plant community, suggesting an impact on the native pollinator fauna and consequently on the native flora. Most endemic plants were generalized with white and small flowers, while endangered species were pollination-specialized with colorful and large flowers. Thus, endangered species are susceptible to changes in pollinator fauna. Flowering seasonality reflected the importance of climatic constraints in this environment. One-third of the plant species were autogamous. Our data suggest that pollinator scarcity may have promoted reproductive assurance strategies such as generalization and pollinator independence. Our community-level study highlighted consistent pollination patterns for tropical mountains and emphasized threats for specialized endangered species.
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Ecossistema , Polinização , Animais , Abelhas , Flores , Plantas , ReproduçãoRESUMO
Crop pollination is one of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) that reconciles biodiversity conservation and agricultural production. NCP benefits vary across space, including among distinct political-administrative levels within nations. Moreover, initiatives to restore ecosystems may enhance NCP provision, such as crop pollination delivered by native pollinators. We mapped crop pollination demand (PD), diversity of pollinator-dependent crops, and vegetation deficit (VD) (vis-a-vis Brazilian legal requirements) across all 5570 municipalities in Brazil. Pollinator-dependent crops represented â¼55% of the annual monetary value of agricultural production and â¼15% of the annual crop production. Municipalities with greater crop PD (i.e., higher degree of pollinator dependence of crop production) also had greater VD, associated with large properties and monocultures. In contrast, municipalities with a greater diversity of pollinator-dependent crops and predominantly small properties presented a smaller VD. Our results support that ecological restoration prompted by legal requirements offers great potential to promote crop productivity in larger properties. Moreover, conservation of vegetation remnants could support food security in small properties. We provided the first steps to identify spatial patterns linking biodiversity conservation and pollination service. Using Brazilian legal requirements as an example, we show that land-use management policies may be successfully used to ensure agricultural sustainability and crop production.
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Ecossistema , Polinização , Agricultura , Abelhas , Biodiversidade , Brasil , Produtos Agrícolas , HumanosRESUMO
Co-flowering plant species may interact via pollinators leading to heterospecific pollen transfer with consequences for plant reproduction. What determines the severity of heterospecific pollen effect on conspecific pollen performance is unclear, but it may depend on the phylogenetic relatedness of the interactors (pollen donors and recipient). The heterospecific pollen effect might also depend on the extent to which plants are exposed to heterospecific pollen over ecological or evolutionary timescales. For instance, generalist-pollinated plant species might tolerate heterospecific pollen more than specialists. Here, we tested whether heterospecific pollen effects are stronger between closely related species than phylogenetically distant ones in a tropical highland community. Then, based on these results, we determined whether responses to heterospecific pollen were stronger in generalized vs. specialized plant species. We applied heterospecific pollen from close (congeneric) or distant (different families) donors alone or with conspecific pollen on stigmas of three recipient species (one generalist, Sisyrinchium wettsteinii; and two specialists, Fuchsia campos-portoi and Fuchsia regia) and scored pollen tube performance in styles. In all species, pollen from closely related donors grew pollen tubes to the base of the style indicating a high potential to interfere with seed set. Conversely, distantly related heterospecific pollen had no effect on either specialist Fuchsia species, whereas enhanced performance of conspecific pollen was observed in generalist S. wettsteinii. The strong effect of phylogenetic relatedness of donor and recipient might have obscured the role of pollination specialization, at least for the three species examined here. Therefore, phylogenetic relatedness mediated the effect of heterospecific pollen on post-pollination success, with possible consequences for reproductive trait evolution and community assembly for further studies to explore.
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Pollination is thought to be under positive density-dependence, destabilising plant coexistence by conferring fitness disadvantages to rare species. Such disadvantage is exacerbated by interspecific competition but can be mitigated by facilitation and intraspecific competition. However, pollinator scarcity should enhance intraspecific plant competition and impose disadvantage on common over rare species (negative density-dependence, NDD). We assessed pollination proxies (visitation rate, pollen receipt, pollen tubes) in a generalised plant community and related them to conspecific and heterospecific density, expecting NDD and interspecific facilitation due to the natural pollinator scarcity. Contrary to usual expectations, all proxies indicated strong intraspecific competition for common plants. Moreover interspecific facilitation prevailed and was stronger for rare than for common plants. Both NDD and interspecific facilitation were modulated by specialisation, floral display and pollinator group. The combination of intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation fosters plant coexistence, suggesting that pollination can be a niche axis maintaining plant diversity.