PS 17-240 - Consequences of pollinator shifts on plant-pollinator interactions: A case study of the pollination ecology of Eletteria cardamomum in its Introduced range in Mexico .

Abstract: Global change factors such as agriculture and climate change have introduced plants and pollinators to new environments. This introduction leads to novel interaction networks for the introduced plant or pollinator species and may have important implications for their reproductive success and survival. Understanding the conditions under which plants and pollinators may adapt to these novel environments to ensure persistence in their new habitats is of increasing importance. We studied the pollination ecology of Eletteria cardamomum, a plant native to India and introduced for cultivation in Mexico, and quantified the pollination effectiveness of the most common visitors of E. cardamomum. We found that E. cardamomum received maximum visitation from bee species and that these visits included both legitimate and nectar robbing visits. Native stingless bee species, the most abundant group of visitors to E. cardamomum, displayed both robbing and pollen collecting behavior. The most effective pollinator of E. cardamomum in its introduced range was the native stingless nectar robbing bee species, Scaptotrigona mexicana, highlighting the need to examine the activity of visitors that on the face of it appear to “rob” plants but may turn out to be the most effective pollinators. Our study is also the first step in determining whether E. cardamomum will adapt to its most effective pollinator, even though S. mexicana is not morphologically adapted to pollinate it.