Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus
Abstract Climate change is altering the world's ecosystems through direct effects of climate warming and precipitation changes but also indirectly through changes in biotic interactions. For instance, climate‐driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant–pollinator interacti...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9876b3c5ab7e46d3beaa63a4b66858c2 2023-05-15T18:40:37+02:00 Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus Siri L. Olsen Marianne Evju Jens Åström Jørn O. Løkken Sondre Dahle Jonas L. Andresen Nina E. Eide 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/article/9876b3c5ab7e46d3beaa63a4b66858c2 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/article/9876b3c5ab7e46d3beaa63a4b66858c2 Ecology and Evolution, Vol 12, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) bilberry biotic interactions climate change elevational gradient fruit production seed production Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 2022-12-30T21:48:36Z Abstract Climate change is altering the world's ecosystems through direct effects of climate warming and precipitation changes but also indirectly through changes in biotic interactions. For instance, climate‐driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant–pollinator interactions, thereby influencing plant reproductive success and ultimately population dynamics of insect‐pollinated plants. To better understand how the importance of insect pollination for plant fruit set varies with climate, we experimentally excluded pollinators from the partly selfing keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus along elevational gradients in the forest‐tundra ecotone in central Norway. The study comprised three mountain areas, seven elevational gradients spanning from the climatically relatively benign birch forest to the colder alpine areas above the tree line, and 180 plots of 1 × 1 m, with experimental treatments allocated randomly to plots within sites. Within the experimental plots, we counted the number of flowers of V. myrtillus and counted and weighed all fruits, as well as seeds for a selection of fruits. Excluding pollinators resulted in lower fruit production, as well as reduced fruit and seed mass of V. myrtillus. In the alpine sites pollinator exclusion resulted in 84% fewer fruits, 50% lower fruit weight, and 50% lower seed weight compared to control conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the negative effect of pollinator exclusion was less pronounced in the forest compared to alpine sites, suggesting that the importance of insect pollination for seed production is lower at low elevations. Our findings indicate that the keystone species V. myrtillus is relatively robust to changes in the pollinator community in a warmer climate, thereby making it less vulnerable to climate‐driven changes in plant–pollinator interactions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway Ecology and Evolution 12 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
bilberry biotic interactions climate change elevational gradient fruit production seed production Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
bilberry biotic interactions climate change elevational gradient fruit production seed production Ecology QH540-549.5 Siri L. Olsen Marianne Evju Jens Åström Jørn O. Løkken Sondre Dahle Jonas L. Andresen Nina E. Eide Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
topic_facet |
bilberry biotic interactions climate change elevational gradient fruit production seed production Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Climate change is altering the world's ecosystems through direct effects of climate warming and precipitation changes but also indirectly through changes in biotic interactions. For instance, climate‐driven changes in plant and/or insect communities may alter plant–pollinator interactions, thereby influencing plant reproductive success and ultimately population dynamics of insect‐pollinated plants. To better understand how the importance of insect pollination for plant fruit set varies with climate, we experimentally excluded pollinators from the partly selfing keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus along elevational gradients in the forest‐tundra ecotone in central Norway. The study comprised three mountain areas, seven elevational gradients spanning from the climatically relatively benign birch forest to the colder alpine areas above the tree line, and 180 plots of 1 × 1 m, with experimental treatments allocated randomly to plots within sites. Within the experimental plots, we counted the number of flowers of V. myrtillus and counted and weighed all fruits, as well as seeds for a selection of fruits. Excluding pollinators resulted in lower fruit production, as well as reduced fruit and seed mass of V. myrtillus. In the alpine sites pollinator exclusion resulted in 84% fewer fruits, 50% lower fruit weight, and 50% lower seed weight compared to control conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the negative effect of pollinator exclusion was less pronounced in the forest compared to alpine sites, suggesting that the importance of insect pollination for seed production is lower at low elevations. Our findings indicate that the keystone species V. myrtillus is relatively robust to changes in the pollinator community in a warmer climate, thereby making it less vulnerable to climate‐driven changes in plant–pollinator interactions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Siri L. Olsen Marianne Evju Jens Åström Jørn O. Løkken Sondre Dahle Jonas L. Andresen Nina E. Eide |
author_facet |
Siri L. Olsen Marianne Evju Jens Åström Jørn O. Løkken Sondre Dahle Jonas L. Andresen Nina E. Eide |
author_sort |
Siri L. Olsen |
title |
Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
title_short |
Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
title_full |
Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
title_fullStr |
Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus |
title_sort |
climate influence on plant–pollinator interactions in the keystone species vaccinium myrtillus |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/article/9876b3c5ab7e46d3beaa63a4b66858c2 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 12, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.8910 https://doaj.org/article/9876b3c5ab7e46d3beaa63a4b66858c2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8910 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1766230009661358080 |