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dc.contributor.author
Ledbetter, Trevor A.
dc.contributor.author
Richman, Sarah K.
dc.contributor.author
Irwin, Rebecca E.
dc.contributor.author
Bronstein, Judith L.
dc.date.accessioned
2022-12-16T14:31:15Z
dc.date.available
2022-12-15T13:22:20Z
dc.date.available
2022-12-16T14:31:15Z
dc.date.issued
2022
dc.identifier.issn
1920-7603
dc.identifier.other
10.26786/1920-7603(2022)663
en_US
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/587429
dc.identifier.doi
10.3929/ethz-b-000587429
dc.description.abstract
Pollinator declines worldwide are having strong negative consequences for plants. In many communities, antagonistic flower visitors, including nectar robbers, have likely declined in abundance as well. Given the negative effects that these visitors can sometimes inflict, might declines in their populations benefit plants? During the 1970s, the floral visitor community of the Colorado columbine, Aquilegia caerulea (Ranunculaceae), was documented near Gothic, Colorado. At that time, Bombus occidentalis, the Western Bumble bee, was one of its many pollinators, but more commonly acted as its only known nectar robber. Bombus occidentalis abundance has declined precipitously throughout the Western USA since the 1970s. In 2016, we documented the floral visitor community in sites near to those used in the original survey. We then experimentally quantified the effects of nectar robbing, allowing us to estimate the reproductive consequences of losing B. occidentalis. We also quantified the potential pollination services of muscid flies (Muscidae, Diptera). The floral visitor community was dramatically different in 2016 compared to the 1970s. Bombus occidentalis, a frequent A. caerulea visitor from 1969-1976, was infrequently observed visiting the plant, and nectar robbing was negligible. Our experiments suggested that a high level of nectar robbing would lead to significantly reduced fruit set, although not seeds per fruit. Fly visits to flowers were dramatically higher in 2016 compared to the 1970s. We show that, in the absence of bumble bee pollinators, muscid flies significantly reduced fruit set below the self-pollination rate. The negative effect of the increase in these flies likely outweighed any positive effects A. caerulea experienced from the absence of its nectar robber. Although the field observations were conducted in a single year, when they are interpreted in combination with our manipulative experiments, they suggest how A. caerulea may fare in a changing visitation landscape.
en_US
dc.format
application/pdf
en_US
dc.language.iso
en
en_US
dc.publisher
Enviroquest
en_US
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject
Bombus occidentalis
en_US
dc.subject
bee declines
en_US
dc.subject
nectar robbing
en_US
dc.subject
floral larceny
en_US
dc.subject
Aquilegia caerulea
en_US
dc.subject
Muscidae
en_US
dc.title
What are the plant reproductive consequences of losing a nectar robber?
en_US
dc.type
Journal Article
dc.rights.license
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
dc.date.published
2022-08-03
ethz.journal.title
Journal of Pollination Ecology
ethz.journal.volume
31
en_US
ethz.journal.issue
10
en_US
ethz.pages.start
97
en_US
ethz.pages.end
109
en_US
ethz.version.deposit
publishedVersion
en_US
ethz.publication.place
Cambridge, ON
en_US
ethz.publication.status
published
en_US
ethz.leitzahl
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02350 - Dep. Umweltsystemwissenschaften / Dep. of Environmental Systems Science::02720 - Institut für Integrative Biologie / Institute of Integrative Biology::09716 - Hille Ris Lambers, Janneke / Hille Ris Lambers, Janneke
en_US
ethz.leitzahl.certified
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02350 - Dep. Umweltsystemwissenschaften / Dep. of Environmental Systems Science::02720 - Institut für Integrative Biologie / Institute of Integrative Biology::09716 - Hille Ris Lambers, Janneke / Hille Ris Lambers, Janneke
ethz.date.deposited
2022-12-15T13:22:21Z
ethz.source
BATCH
ethz.eth
yes
en_US
ethz.availability
Open access
en_US
ethz.rosetta.installDate
2022-12-16T14:31:16Z
ethz.rosetta.lastUpdated
2023-02-07T08:54:59Z
ethz.rosetta.versionExported
true
ethz.COinS
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