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Warming, CO2, and nitrogen deposition interactively affect a plant-pollinator mutualism.
Ecol Lett. 2012 Mar; 15(3):227-34
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31 Jan 2012
New Finding
DOI: 10.3410/f.13489123.14866273
This study uses an experimental approach to investigate the effects of three global change drivers on a plant-pollinator mutualism. The authors report that elevated temperature, CO2 and nitrogen deposition have non-additive effects on a plant’s floral traits, such that the combined effects cannot be predicted...Continue reading
This study uses an experimental approach to investigate the effects of three global change drivers on a plant-pollinator mutualism. The authors report that elevated temperature, CO2 and nitrogen deposition have non-additive effects on a plant’s floral traits, such that the combined effects cannot be predicted by studies considering each factor in isolation. Furthermore, they report that changes in one trait, nectar composition, made flowers less attractive to pollinators and also reduced pollinator fitness.
While previous studies have demonstrated that temperature, CO2, and nitrogen can have non-additive effects on plant performance {1}, traits important to plant-pollinator interactions and subsequent effects on pollinators have been less studied and only for one global change factor at a time {2}. Studies such as Hoover et al.’s raise a cautionary note about experimentally isolating particular components of global change, which can potentially leave the interactions undetected. In addition, the study highlights the importance of looking for effects on species interactions, which can be more sensitive to environmental change than the individual species {3}. The remaining challenge is to scale up experimental results to real ecosystems.
While previous studies have demonstrated that temperature, CO2, and nitrogen can have non-additive effects on plant performance {1}, traits important to plant-pollinator interactions and subsequent effects on pollinators have been less studied and only for one global change factor at a time {2}. Studies such as Hoover et al.’s raise a cautionary note about experimentally isolating particular components of global change, which can potentially leave the interactions undetected. In addition, the study highlights the importance of looking for effects on species interactions, which can be more sensitive to environmental change than the individual species {3}. The remaining challenge is to scale up experimental results to real ecosystems.
References
1.
Grassland responses to three years of elevated temperature, CO2, precipitation, and N deposition.
Ecol Monogr 2003; 73(4):585–604
Full text
2.
Beyond biomass: measuring the effects of community-level nitrogen enrichment on floral traits, pollinator visitation and plant reproduction.
J Ecol 2010; 98(3): 705-17
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01648.x
3.
Global change and species interactions in terrestrial ecosystems.
Ecol Lett 2008 Dec; 12(11):1351-63
PMID: 19062363
Disclosures
None declared
Add Comment
Winfree R and Bartomeus I: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Hoover SE et al., Ecol Lett 2012, 15(3):227-34]. In F1000Prime, 31 Jan 2012; DOI: 10.3410/f.13489123.14866273. F1000Prime.com/13489123#eval14866273
04 Apr 2012
New Finding
DOI: 10.3410/f.13489123.15775102
In this fine study, Hoover and colleagues show that interactive effects of three of the five major drivers of environmental change have the potential to disrupt the mutualism between plants and pollinators.
Natural systems are threatened by a variety of human perturbations that take place simultaneously....Continue reading
Natural systems are threatened by a variety of human perturbations that take place simultaneously....Continue reading
In this fine study, Hoover and colleagues show that interactive effects of three of the five major drivers of environmental change have the potential to disrupt the mutualism between plants and pollinators.
Natural systems are threatened by a variety of human perturbations that take place simultaneously. Nonetheless, our understanding of how different stressors can interact to generate additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects remains limited. In this study, Hoover et al. show that altered levels of nitrogen (N) deposition, CO2 enrichment and increased temperature, through the alteration of flower morphology, phenology, flower sex ratios and nectar chemistry (sugar and amino acids), influence nectar attractiveness to bumble bees and, ultimately, their longevity. Beyond the relevance of these findings for the specific interaction investigated (plant-pollinator mutualism), I liked this study because it provides evidence that effects of multiple stressors on plants propagate to consumers and, hence, across trophic levels. Thus, I sense that this study might inspire future work in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This said, I am looking forward to see studies going beyond the effects of mean values of stressors, to take into account their temporal attributes (e.g. temporal variance, extreme values). Such tests, reproducing more accurately present and future environmental change scenarios, would likely advance our ability to forecast the effects of multiple drivers on natural systems.
Natural systems are threatened by a variety of human perturbations that take place simultaneously. Nonetheless, our understanding of how different stressors can interact to generate additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects remains limited. In this study, Hoover et al. show that altered levels of nitrogen (N) deposition, CO2 enrichment and increased temperature, through the alteration of flower morphology, phenology, flower sex ratios and nectar chemistry (sugar and amino acids), influence nectar attractiveness to bumble bees and, ultimately, their longevity. Beyond the relevance of these findings for the specific interaction investigated (plant-pollinator mutualism), I liked this study because it provides evidence that effects of multiple stressors on plants propagate to consumers and, hence, across trophic levels. Thus, I sense that this study might inspire future work in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This said, I am looking forward to see studies going beyond the effects of mean values of stressors, to take into account their temporal attributes (e.g. temporal variance, extreme values). Such tests, reproducing more accurately present and future environmental change scenarios, would likely advance our ability to forecast the effects of multiple drivers on natural systems.
Disclosures
None declared
Bulleri F: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Hoover SE et al., Ecol Lett 2012, 15(3):227-34]. In F1000Prime, 04 Apr 2012; DOI: 10.3410/f.13489123.15775102. F1000Prime.com/13489123#eval15775102
F1000Prime Recommendations, Dissents and Comments for [Hoover SE et al., Ecol Lett 2012, 15(3):227-34]. In F1000Prime, 25 May 2013; F1000Prime.com/13489123
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Environmental changes threaten plant-pollinator mutualisms and their critical ecosystem service. Drivers such as land use, invasions and climate change can affect pollinator diversity or species encounter rates. However, nitrogen deposition, climate warming and CO(2) enrichment could interact to disrupt this crucial mutualism by altering plant chemistry in ways that alter floral attractiveness or even nutritional rewards for pollinators. Using a pumpkin model system, we show that these drivers non-additively affect flower morphology, phenology, flower sex ratios and nectar chemistry (sugar and amino acids), thereby altering the attractiveness of nectar to bumble bee pollinators and reducing worker longevity. Alarmingly, bees were attracted to, and consumed more, nectar from a treatment that reduced their survival by 22%. Thus, three of the five major drivers of global environmental change have previously unknown interactive effects on plant-pollinator mutualisms that could not be predicted from studies of individual drivers in isolation.
© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01729.x
PMID: 22221802
