Plants and pollinators: will natural selection cause an imbalance
between nectar supply and demand?
- Francis Ratnieks,
- Nicholas Balfour
Abstract
Pollination is an important ecological process. However, the needs of
plants and pollinators are not always met. Pollen limitation commonly
reduces seed set and bees often experience nectar dearth. Using a
theoretical cost-benefit optimization model we show that natural
selection acting at the level of individual plants and pollinators will
result in positive feedback that exacerbates pre-existing imbalances
between nectar supply and demand. When pollinators are scarce plants
will be selected to produce more nectar to outcompete other plants in
attracting pollinators, and when pollinators are abundant plants will be
selected to produce less nectar. We encourage the testing of this novel
hypothesis and propose several ways of doing this via comparative study
and experimental manipulation. We also suggest that evidence for
seasonal variation in foraging conditions provides preliminary empirical
support. If our hypothesis is correct it means that pollination faces a
particular challenge in balancing nectar supply with demand.25 Aug 2020Submitted to Ecology Letters 26 Aug 2020Submission Checks Completed
26 Aug 2020Assigned to Editor
28 Aug 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
01 Oct 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Oct 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Major
31 Jan 20211st Revision Received
01 Feb 2021Submission Checks Completed
01 Feb 2021Assigned to Editor
05 Feb 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
12 Feb 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Apr 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
19 Apr 20212nd Revision Received
20 Apr 2021Submission Checks Completed
20 Apr 2021Assigned to Editor
03 May 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 May 2021Editorial Decision: Accept