Link Between Pollinators and Diverse Landscapes is a Two-Way Street
hubie writes:
Link between pollinators and diverse landscapes is a two-way street:
Ecologists have long seen a strong connection between biodiversity and pollinators - the butterflies, birds, bats, bees and other insects that help the flowers they snack on by transferring pollen from male anthers to female stigma.
Previous research has shown diverse landscapes draw more pollinators, as a wider variety of pollen and nectar attracts attention from a wider variety of animals - some which only feed on certain plants. Essentially, pollinators go where the food is, said Brian Wilsey, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University.
A recent study by Wilsey and doctoral graduate Nathan Soley showed the converse is also true: Pollinators support diversity in plant communities. In an article published this month in Ecology, Wilsey and Soley described a four-year experiment they conducted in plots of restored prairie that examined how plant diversity was affected by purposely protecting wildflowers from pollinators. Among animal-pollinated plants, viable seed production fell by 50% and the diversity of species fell by 27%, they found.
"Our study is the first we are aware of to show that plant biodiversity at the community level can be limited by a lack of pollinators," Wilsey said.
[...] The study's results suggest significant declines in pollinators could cause biodiversity losses that further reduce pollinator populations, causing a self-reinforcing downward trend in both that the researchers call a "plant-pollinator extinction vortex."
"Before this study, I would have never thought that pollinators were this important to maintaining biodiversity. It really opened my eyes," Wilsey said.
Pollinators are essential because of their role in food production. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 35% of global food crops depend on animal pollination to reproduce, making the seeds and fruits that humans harvest.
In addition to providing critical support for pollinators and other wildlife, diverse landscapes improve water and soil quality. In prairies, which used to cover most of Iowa, a variety of life makes ecosystems more resilient to droughts, floods and invasive species. Beyond pollinators, the known pro-biodiversity factors include low nutrient availability, proximity to other quality habitat and a lack of human degradation, Wilsey said.
One major implication of knowing pollinators help maintain plant biodiversity is the need to consider the presence of pollinator habitat when establishing prairie restoration areas. That's especially true for urban projects, Wilsey said. The human-enhanced pollination plots in the study showed no change in biodiversity when compared to the control plots, an indication that there were sufficient bees and other pollinators in the area. But that's less likely to be the case in more human-impacted environments.
Journal Reference: Nathan M. Soley, Brian J. Wilsey, Pollinators maintain biodiversity in assembling plant communities https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70369
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