Spatial variation in co-flowering and pollinator community in four Italian populations influences the role of the generalist herb Arabis alpina L. (Brassicaceae) in plant-visitor networks
(2022) BIOM02 20221Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- When it comes to predicting biological outcomes, be they single adaptations, or whole ecosystem shifts, we have still to build many bridges in our understanding of how each level of life is connected. Though exceedingly complex, analysing communities is vital in comprehending how single species, or ecosystems, may fare in this changing world. This study aims to answer questions about plant-pollinator community variation, as well as changeability in the role of species within them, in an early blooming montane system. Predictions are based on a recent revelation concerning significant among-population variation in floral scent bouquets, in the arctic-alpine generalist herb, Arabis alpina, in central Italy. Since, i) pollinator-mediated... (More)
- When it comes to predicting biological outcomes, be they single adaptations, or whole ecosystem shifts, we have still to build many bridges in our understanding of how each level of life is connected. Though exceedingly complex, analysing communities is vital in comprehending how single species, or ecosystems, may fare in this changing world. This study aims to answer questions about plant-pollinator community variation, as well as changeability in the role of species within them, in an early blooming montane system. Predictions are based on a recent revelation concerning significant among-population variation in floral scent bouquets, in the arctic-alpine generalist herb, Arabis alpina, in central Italy. Since, i) pollinator-mediated selection is a major driving force behind floral trait evolution, and ii) coflowering communities impact the presence and preference of local pollinators, I predict that these plant-pollinator communities should vary based on the trait variation in A. alpina. I investigate how local variations are related to the community structure and stability, as well as the role of A. alpina within, using quantifiable measures in interaction networks. My results show that the four communities differed in both plant and pollinator composition, as well as in what functional groups were the major local visitors to A. alpina. The A. alpina population with the most unique scent profile also revealed the most unique coflowering-visitor community and interaction network structure. Within this unique community, this typically generalist herb, A. alpina, displayed the role of an ecological specialist, and thus serves as a good example of how the same species may play very different roles in different local environments. Future studies should investigate the connection between floral scent variation among A. alpina populations and their local interaction community, and attempt to disentangle community effects, with those of temporal, spatial and landscape features. These are research routes of much value in the field of conservation planning, when considering how global change will impact communities and the species within them. Another avenue of interest is to investigate potential trait associations with the two major visitors to A. alpina, hawkmoths (Macroglossum stellatarum) and beeflies (Bombyliidae sp.), across locally interacting populations. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Disentangling the complication of everything working together
No species on Earth exists in a vacuum. We all rely on each other in one way or another. We all need to interact and have certain partners who we rely on, perhaps more or less or having different preferences in different situations. This is universal in our world. A world where plants and insects dominate virtually all terrestrial ecosystems, whose interactions make up a substantial component of the web of life. One of the major interactive partnerships between plants and insects is that between plants and their pollinators. This interaction is also vital to us humans, for our crops and for beautiful flowers to grow. Therefore, it is important for us to continue to delve into... (More) - Disentangling the complication of everything working together
No species on Earth exists in a vacuum. We all rely on each other in one way or another. We all need to interact and have certain partners who we rely on, perhaps more or less or having different preferences in different situations. This is universal in our world. A world where plants and insects dominate virtually all terrestrial ecosystems, whose interactions make up a substantial component of the web of life. One of the major interactive partnerships between plants and insects is that between plants and their pollinators. This interaction is also vital to us humans, for our crops and for beautiful flowers to grow. Therefore, it is important for us to continue to delve into understanding these particularly important interactions.
To look at how a set of interacting communities can differ in their dynamics, I took to the Apennine mountains in central Italy, where several populations of Arabis alpina are inhabiting different settings. Arabis alpina has become a floral species of special interest, in this area specifically, due to showing different floral scents between nearby and genetically similar populations. Since selection driven by pollinators is expected to be the main driver of flower scent in pollinator-dependent plants, and since pollinators are likely to change their behaviour based on how many and what flowers are in the total flowering community, I expected that the plant-pollinator communities surrounding these A. alpina populations of different smell would be different.
By surveying the coflowering community surrounding the focal A. alpina populations, as well as the pollinators interacting with each of the coflowering community, I hoped to be able to quantify the interacting community structure. How these interactions look can be thought of as a network of direct and indirect links. Therefore, the analysis of interactions can be considered a network analyses. In a network analysis it is possible to assign a value to an interaction and community of interactions, such as specialisation or stability of the network.
What I found was that the communities surrounding these different populations of A. alpina do indeed differ. They differ in both the makeup of the coflowering community and pollinator community, as well as which pollinators were the main visitor to A. alpina, between bee flies (Bombyliidae; pictured) and the hummingbird hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum). In fact, the A. alpina population which smelled the most unusual in the area also had the most unique flower and pollinator composition and network structure. In this study, A. alpina is a good example of how species can vary in their interacting role in the community depending on the community make-up and environment. This alpine generalist, typically interacting with a range of pollinators, was found to behave as an ecological specialist in our most unique early blooming site, situated in an agricultural basin.
Future studies should continue to investigate the connection between floral scent variation among A. alpina populations and their local interaction community, and attempt to disentangle community effects, with those of seasonality and landscape features. These are research routes of much value in the field of conservation planning, when considering how global change will impact communities and the species within them.
Master’s Degree Project in Conservation Biology 30 credits 2022
Department of Biology, Lund University
Advisor(s): Magne Friberg, Hanna Thosteman, Katherine Eisen
Lund University, Department of Biology, SPeciation, Adaptation & Co-Evolution (SPACE) research group (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9118769
- author
- Montgomery, Clara
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BIOM02 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9118769
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-02 11:24:30
- date last changed
- 2023-06-02 11:24:30
@misc{9118769,
abstract = {{When it comes to predicting biological outcomes, be they single adaptations, or whole ecosystem shifts, we have still to build many bridges in our understanding of how each level of life is connected. Though exceedingly complex, analysing communities is vital in comprehending how single species, or ecosystems, may fare in this changing world. This study aims to answer questions about plant-pollinator community variation, as well as changeability in the role of species within them, in an early blooming montane system. Predictions are based on a recent revelation concerning significant among-population variation in floral scent bouquets, in the arctic-alpine generalist herb, Arabis alpina, in central Italy. Since, i) pollinator-mediated selection is a major driving force behind floral trait evolution, and ii) coflowering communities impact the presence and preference of local pollinators, I predict that these plant-pollinator communities should vary based on the trait variation in A. alpina. I investigate how local variations are related to the community structure and stability, as well as the role of A. alpina within, using quantifiable measures in interaction networks. My results show that the four communities differed in both plant and pollinator composition, as well as in what functional groups were the major local visitors to A. alpina. The A. alpina population with the most unique scent profile also revealed the most unique coflowering-visitor community and interaction network structure. Within this unique community, this typically generalist herb, A. alpina, displayed the role of an ecological specialist, and thus serves as a good example of how the same species may play very different roles in different local environments. Future studies should investigate the connection between floral scent variation among A. alpina populations and their local interaction community, and attempt to disentangle community effects, with those of temporal, spatial and landscape features. These are research routes of much value in the field of conservation planning, when considering how global change will impact communities and the species within them. Another avenue of interest is to investigate potential trait associations with the two major visitors to A. alpina, hawkmoths (Macroglossum stellatarum) and beeflies (Bombyliidae sp.), across locally interacting populations.}},
author = {{Montgomery, Clara}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Spatial variation in co-flowering and pollinator community in four Italian populations influences the role of the generalist herb Arabis alpina L. (Brassicaceae) in plant-visitor networks}},
year = {{2022}},
}