Initial floral visitor identity and foraging time strongly influence blueberry reproductive success
(2022) In Basic and Applied Ecology 60. p.114-122- Abstract
Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects subsequent ecological processes. The order that pollinator species visit flowers may affect pollination through a priority effect, whereby the first visitor reduces or modifies the contribution of subsequent visits. We observed floral visitation to blueberry flowers from honeybees, stingless bees or a mixture of both species and investigated how (i) initial visits differed in duration to later visits; and (ii) how visit sequences from different pollinator taxa influenced fruit weight. Stingless bees visited blueberry flowers for significantly longer than honeybees and maintained their floral visit duration, irrespective of the number of preceding visits. In contrast,... (More)
Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects subsequent ecological processes. The order that pollinator species visit flowers may affect pollination through a priority effect, whereby the first visitor reduces or modifies the contribution of subsequent visits. We observed floral visitation to blueberry flowers from honeybees, stingless bees or a mixture of both species and investigated how (i) initial visits differed in duration to later visits; and (ii) how visit sequences from different pollinator taxa influenced fruit weight. Stingless bees visited blueberry flowers for significantly longer than honeybees and maintained their floral visit duration, irrespective of the number of preceding visits. In contrast, honeybee visit duration declined significantly with an increasing number of preceding visits. Fruit weight was positively associated with longer floral visit duration by honeybees but not from stingless bee or mixed species visitation. Fruit from mixed species visits were heavier overall than single species visits, because of a strong priority effect. An initial visit by a stingless bee fully pollinated the flower, limiting the pollination contribution of future visitors. However, after an initial honeybee visit, flowers were not fully pollinated and additional visitation had an additive effect upon fruit weight. Blueberries from flowers visited first by stingless bees were 60% heavier than those visited first by honeybees when total floral visitation was short (∼1 min). However, when total visitation time was long (∼ 8 min), blueberry fruit were 24% heavier when initial visits were from honeybees. Our findings highlight that the initial floral visit can have a disproportionate effect on pollination outcomes. Considering priority effects alongside traditional measures of pollinator effectiveness will provide a greater mechanistic understanding of how pollinator communities influence plant reproductive success.
(Less)
- author
- Kendall, Liam K. LU ; Stavert, Jamie R. ; Gagic, Vesna ; Hall, Mark and Rader, Romina
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-05
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Apis mellifera, Ecosystem function, Pollination services, Tetragonula carbonaria, Vaccinium corymbosum
- in
- Basic and Applied Ecology
- volume
- 60
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85125920878
- ISSN
- 1439-1791
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.baae.2022.02.009
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors
- id
- 1bd0ad47-8c8d-43b4-bb13-c0998945f95a
- date added to LUP
- 2022-03-20 19:52:43
- date last changed
- 2023-05-09 08:21:29
@article{1bd0ad47-8c8d-43b4-bb13-c0998945f95a,
abstract = {{<p>Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects subsequent ecological processes. The order that pollinator species visit flowers may affect pollination through a priority effect, whereby the first visitor reduces or modifies the contribution of subsequent visits. We observed floral visitation to blueberry flowers from honeybees, stingless bees or a mixture of both species and investigated how (i) initial visits differed in duration to later visits; and (ii) how visit sequences from different pollinator taxa influenced fruit weight. Stingless bees visited blueberry flowers for significantly longer than honeybees and maintained their floral visit duration, irrespective of the number of preceding visits. In contrast, honeybee visit duration declined significantly with an increasing number of preceding visits. Fruit weight was positively associated with longer floral visit duration by honeybees but not from stingless bee or mixed species visitation. Fruit from mixed species visits were heavier overall than single species visits, because of a strong priority effect. An initial visit by a stingless bee fully pollinated the flower, limiting the pollination contribution of future visitors. However, after an initial honeybee visit, flowers were not fully pollinated and additional visitation had an additive effect upon fruit weight. Blueberries from flowers visited first by stingless bees were 60% heavier than those visited first by honeybees when total floral visitation was short (∼1 min). However, when total visitation time was long (∼ 8 min), blueberry fruit were 24% heavier when initial visits were from honeybees. Our findings highlight that the initial floral visit can have a disproportionate effect on pollination outcomes. Considering priority effects alongside traditional measures of pollinator effectiveness will provide a greater mechanistic understanding of how pollinator communities influence plant reproductive success.</p>}},
author = {{Kendall, Liam K. and Stavert, Jamie R. and Gagic, Vesna and Hall, Mark and Rader, Romina}},
issn = {{1439-1791}},
keywords = {{Apis mellifera; Ecosystem function; Pollination services; Tetragonula carbonaria; Vaccinium corymbosum}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{114--122}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Basic and Applied Ecology}},
title = {{Initial floral visitor identity and foraging time strongly influence blueberry reproductive success}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2022.02.009}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.baae.2022.02.009}},
volume = {{60}},
year = {{2022}},
}