Global agricultural productivity is threatened by increasing pollinator dependence without a parallel increase in crop diversification.

The global increase in the proportion of land cultivated with pollinator-dependent crops implies increased reliance on pollination services. Yet agricultural practices themselves can profoundly affect pollinator supply and pollination. Extensive monocultures are associated with a limited pollinator supply and reduced pollination, whereas agricultural diversification can enhance both. Therefore, areas where agricultural diversity has increased, or at least been maintained, may better sustain high and more stable productivity of pollinator-dependent crops. Given that >80% of all crops depend, to varying extents, on insect pollination, a global increase in agricultural pollinator dependence over recent decades might have led to a concomitant increase in agricultural diversification. We evaluated whether an increase in the area of pollinator-dependent crops has indeed been associated with an increase in agricultural diversity, measured here as crop diversity, at the global, regional, and country scales for the period 1961-2016. Globally, results show a relatively weak and decelerating rise in agricultural diversity over time that was largely decoupled from the strong and continually increasing trend in agricultural dependency on pollinators. At regional and country levels, there was no consistent relationship between temporal changes in pollinator dependence and crop diversification. Instead, our results show heterogeneous responses in which increasing pollinator dependence for some countries and regions has been associated with either an increase or a decrease in agricultural diversity. Particularly worrisome is a rapid expansion of pollinator-dependent oilseed crops in several countries of the Americas and Asia that has resulted in a decrease in agricultural diversity. In these regions, reliance on pollinators is increasing, yet agricultural practices that undermine pollination services are expanding. Our analysis has thereby identified world regions of particular concern where environmentally damaging practices associated with large-scale, industrial agriculture threaten key ecosystem services that underlie productivity, in addition to other benefits provided by biodiversity.

The most effective pollinator principle applies to new invasive pollinators.

G. L. Stebbins' most effective pollinator principle states that when pollinators are not limiting, plants are expected to specialize and adapt to the most abundant and effective pollinator species available. In this study, we quantify the effectiveness of bees, hummingbirds and hawkmoths in a Chilean population of Erythranthe lutea (Phrymaceae), and examine whether flower traits are subject to pollinator-mediated selection by the most effective pollinator species during two consecutive years. Unlike most species in the pollinator community, the visitation rate of the recently arrived Bombus terrestris did not change substantially between years, which together with its high and stable pollen delivery to flower stigmas made this species the most important in the pollinator assemblage, followed by the solitary bee Centris nigerrima Flower traits were under significant selection in the direction expected for short-tongue bees, suggesting that E. lutea is in the initial steps of adaptation to the highly effective exotic bumblebee. Our results illustrate the applicability of Stebbins' principle for new invasive pollinators, and stress their importance in driving flower adaptation of native plant species, a critical issue in the face of biotic exchange and homogenization.

Frugivore-Mediated Selection in A Habitat Transformation Scenario.

Plant-animal interactions are strong drivers of phenotypic evolution. However, the extent to which anthropogenic habitat transformation creates new selective scenarios for plant-animal interactions is a little explored subject. We examined the effects of native forest replacement by exotic Eucalyptus trees on the frugivore-mediated phenotypic selection coefficients imposed by the relict marsupial Dromiciops gliroides upon traits involved in frugivore attraction and germination success of the mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus (Loranthaceae). We found significant gradients for seed weight and sugar content along the native - transformed habitat gradient. While selection for larger seed weight was more relevant in native habitats, fruits with intermediate sugar content were promoted in transformed habitats. The spatial habitat structure and microclimate features such as the degree of sunlight received influenced the natural selection processes, as they correlated with the phenotypic traits analysed. The response of this plant-frugivore interaction to human disturbance seemed to be context-dependent, in which extremely transformed habitats would offer new opportunities for natural selection on dispersal-related traits. Even in recent transformation events like this, human disturbance acts as a strong contemporary evolution driver.

Does Plant Origin Influence the Fitness Impact of Flower Damage? A Meta-Analysis.

Herbivory has been long considered an important component of plant-animal interactions that influences the success of invasive species in novel habitats. One of the most important hypotheses linking herbivory and invasion processes is the enemy-release hypothesis, in which exotic plants are hypothesized to suffer less herbivory and fitness-costs in their novel ranges as they leave behind their enemies in the original range. Most evidence, however, comes from studies on leaf herbivory, and the importance of flower herbivory for the invasion process remains largely unknown. Here we present the results of a meta-analysis of the impact of flower herbivory on plant reproductive success, using as moderators the type of damage caused by floral herbivores and the residence status of the plant species. We found 51 papers that fulfilled our criteria. We also included 60 records from unpublished data of the laboratory, gathering a total of 143 case studies. The effects of florivory and nectar robbing were both negative on plant fitness. The methodology employed in studies of flower herbivory influenced substantially the outcome of flower damage. Experiments using natural herbivory imposed a higher fitness cost than simulated herbivory, such as clipping and petal removal, indicating that studies using artificial herbivory as surrogates of natural herbivory underestimate the real fitness impact of flower herbivory. Although the fitness cost of floral herbivory was high both in native and exotic plant species, floral herbivores had a three-fold stronger fitness impact on exotic than native plants, contravening a critical element of the enemy-release hypothesis. Our results suggest a critical but largely unrecognized role of floral herbivores in preventing the spread of introduced species into newly colonized areas.

Topology of Plant - Flower-Visitor Networks in a Tropical Mountain Forest: Insights on the Role of Altitudinal and Temporal Variation.

Understanding the factors determining the spatial and temporal variation of ecological networks is fundamental to the knowledge of their dynamics and functioning. In this study, we evaluate the effect of elevation and time on the structure of plant-flower-visitor networks in a Colombian mountain forest. We examine the level of generalization of plant and animal species and the identity of interactions in 44 bipartite matrices obtained from eight altitudinal levels, from 2200 to 2900 m during eight consecutive months. The contribution of altitude and time to the overall variation in the number of plant (P) and pollinator (A) species, network size (M), number of interactions (I), connectance (C), and nestedness was evaluated. In general, networks were small, showed high connectance values and non-nested patterns of organization. Variation in P, M, I and C was better accounted by time than elevation, seemingly related to temporal variation in precipitation. Most plant and insect species were specialists and the identity of links showed a high turnover over months and at every 100 m elevation. The partition of the whole system into smaller network units allowed us to detect small-scale patterns of interaction that contrasted with patterns commonly described in cumulative networks. The specialized but erratic pattern of network organization observed in this tropical mountain suggests that high connectance coupled with opportunistic attachment may confer robustness to plant-flower-visitor networks occurring at small spatial and temporal units.

Meta-analysis of anthropogenic habitat disturbance effects on animal-mediated seed dispersal.

Anthropogenic habitat disturbance is a strong biodiversity change driver that compromises not only the species persistence but also the ecological interactions in which they are involved. Even though seed dispersal is a key interaction involved in the recruitment of many tree species and in consequence critical for biodiversity maintenance, studies assessing the effect of different anthropogenic disturbance drivers on this interaction have not been performed under a meta-analytical framework. We assessed the way habitat fragmentation and degradation processes affect species diversity (abundance and species richness) and interaction rates (i.e., fruit removal and visitation rates) of different groups of seed-disperser species at a global scale. We obtained 163 case studies from 37 articles. Results indicate that habitat degradation had a negative effect on seed-disperser animal diversity, whereas habitat fragmentation had a negative effect on interaction rates. Birds and insects were more sensitive in terms of their diversity, whereas mammals showed a negative effect on interaction rates. Regarding habitat, both fragmentation and degradation had a negative effect on seed-disperser animal diversity only in temperate habitats, and negative effects on interaction rates in tropical and temperate habitats. Our results indicate that the impact of human disturbance on seed-disperser species and interactions is not homogeneous. On the contrary, the magnitude of effects seems to be dependent on the type of disturbance, taxonomic group under assessment, and geographical region where the human impact occurs.

Does human-induced habitat transformation modify pollinator-mediated selection? A case study in Viola portalesia (Violaceae).

Pollinator-mediated selection is one of the most important factors driving adaptation in flowering plants. However, as ecological conditions change through habitat loss and fragmentation, the interactions among species may evolve in new and unexpected directions. Human-induced environmental variation is likely to affect selection regimes, but as yet no empirical examples have been reported. In the study reported here, we examined the influence of human-induced habitat transformation on the composition of pollinator assemblages and, hence, pollinator-mediated selection on the flower phenotype of Viola portalesia (Violaceae). Our results indicate that pollinator assemblages differed substantially in terms of species composition and visitation rate between nearby native and transformed habitats. Similarly, the insect species that contributed most to visitation rates differed between plant populations. While the magnitude and sign of pollinator-mediated selection on flower length and width did not differ between sites, selection for flower number lost significance in the transformed habitat, and a significant pattern of disruptive selection for flower shape, undetected in the native habitat, was present in the transformed one. Overall, the results of this study suggest that human-induced habitat change may not only modify the species composition of pollinator assemblages, relaxing the selection process on some flower characters, but they may also create new opportunities for fitness-trait covariation not present in pristine conditions.

What does determine gonad weight in the wild kissing bug Mepraia spinolai.

Female fecundity increases with body size in a variety of insects, but it is unknown if this generalization applies for kissing bugs. In this study, we evaluate whether gonad weight in the bloodsucking insect Mepraia spinolai correlates with body size, or determined by nutrition or developmental time. We found that the investment on reproductive tissue correlates positively and significantly with body size and with the amount of ingested blood by female insects along their lifespan. Total molting time did not significantly affect gonad weight. We suggest that under optimal feeding conditions M. spinolai females could express their maximum reproductive potential.

What does determine gonad weight in the wild kissing bug Mepraia spinolai

Female fecundity increases with body size in a variety of insects, but it is unknown if this generalization applies for kissing bugs. In this study, we evaluate whether gonad weight in the bloodsucking insect Mepraia spinolai correlates with body size, or determined by nutrition or developmental time. We found that the investment on reproductive tissue correlates positively and significantly with body size and with the amount of ingested blood by female insects along their lifespan. Total molting time did not significantly affect gonad weight. We suggest that under optimal feeding conditions M. spinolai females could express their maximum reproductive potential.

Chagas disease parasite induces behavioural changes in the kissing bug Mepraia spinolai.

Parasites have been shown to manipulate the feeding behaviour of their invertebrate vectors, which results in an increased probability of transmission to definitive hosts. Most evidence for this hypothesis comes from protozoan species with salivary transmission but evidence for stercorarian parasite transmission is lacking. We present experimental evidence that infection of the kissing bug Mepraia spinolai (Hemiptera; Reduviidae) with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi reduced the time to detect potential hosts in comparison to control insects. Infected bugs bit about twice more often than uninfected nymphs and defecated 8 min after the last blood meal whereas uninfected bugs needed 11 min. The behaviour of male and female nymphs did not differ significantly. Since all of these traits relate to parasite transmission, we suggest that parasite-mediated changes in the foraging and defecation behaviour of M. spinolai may promote the spread of T. cruzi toward definitive hosts.

Body size, energetic and foraging mode of raptors in central Chile : An inference.

An inferential analysis of the foraging mode (opportunist or mediate by prey selection) of a taxonomic assemblage of raptors in central Chile was conducted. The analysis of energetic aspects such as daily requirements of predators and energy supplied by the preys, with estimations of prey relative abundances and their incidence in the diet of raptors, led us to conclude that contrarly to the opportunistic hunting mode suggested by others authors, these predators apparently present prey selection (on a biomass basis). This phenomenon is particularly evident in raptors of small body size.