Interactions between nectar robbers and seed predators mediated by a shared host plant, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ipomopsis aggregata</Emphasis> |
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Authors: | Alison K Brody Rebecca E Irwin Meghan L McCutcheon Emily C Parsons |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA;(2) Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, PO Box 519, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA;(3) Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA;(4) School of Natural Resources, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA |
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Abstract: | Animals that consume plant parts or rewards but provide no services in return are likely to have significant impacts on the
reproductive success of their host plants. The effects of multiple antagonists to plant reproduction may not be predictable
from studying their individual effects in isolation. If consumer behaviors are contingent on each other, such interactions
may limit the ability of the host to evolve in response to any one enemy. Here, we asked whether nectar robbing by a bumblebee
(Bombus occidentalis) altered the likelihood of pre-dispersal seed predation by a fly (Hylemya sp.) on a shared host plant, Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae). We estimated the fitness consequences of the combined interactions using experimental manipulations of nectar
robbing within and among sites. Within sites, nectar robbing reduced the percentage of fruits destroyed by Hylemya. However, the negative effects of robbing on seed production outweighed any advantages associated with decreased seed predation
in robbed plants. We found similar trends among sites when we manipulated robbing to all plants within a local population,
although the results were not statistically significant. Taken together, our results suggest that seed predation is not independent
of nectar robbing. Thus, accounting for the interactions among species is crucial to predicting their ecological effects and
plant evolutionary response. |
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Keywords: | Scarlet gilia Multispecies interactions Nectar robbing Plant– animal interactions Pollination |
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