Higher pollinator effectiveness by specialist than generalist flower-visitors of unspecialized Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae).
A critical issue in pollination ecology is the evolution of generalist pollination systems, and under which conditions floral specializations evolve from these. The gynodioecious herb Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae) exhibits a generalized pollination system, but is visited by both generalist and specialist flower-visitors. The present study tested pollinator effectiveness and pollinator importance of the pollen specialist solitary bee Andrena hattorfiana (Andrenidae) vs. the generalist flower-visitors to K. arvensis on the island of Oland, SE Sweden. Females of the specialist bee removed more pollen per inflorescence-visit than the major groups of generalist visitors such as bumblebees and flies. They also deposited more pollen per inflorescence-visit than any of the generalist visitor groups. The females have a preference for pollen-presenting vs. stigma-presenting inflorescences, a pattern shared with most of the generalist flower-visitors. Females of the specialist exert such a strong preference that they, despite their great pollinator effectiveness, make modest contribution to pollen transfer in K. arvensis. The females of A. hattorfiana accounted for 14.2% of the overall visits and 5.8% of the total pollination, the rest being performed by generalist visitors and males of A. hattorfiana. This study shows that pollinator effectiveness of a specialist can be superior while generalist flower-visitors select floral characters towards generalization through their greater contribution to overall pollen flow.
Larsson
Magnus
M
Department of Plant Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Villavägen 14, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden. magnus.larsson@ebc.uu.se
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D049917:Dipsacaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000502:physiology*