Reproductive success in fragmented habitats: do compatibility systems and pollination specialization matter?

By M. Aizen, L. Ashworth, L. Galetto. 2002

218 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract This paper explores whether plant breeding system and pollination specialization influence the reproductive response of plants to habitat fragmentation. It is meaningful for conservation to predict a plant species' extinction risk. We found 25 studies in the literature assessing the effects of habitat fragmentation on either pollination or reproductive success of 46 plant species to answer the following questions: 1. Are pollination and reproductive success of self-incompatible species more likely to decline with habitat fragmentation than the pollination and reproductive success of self-compatible species? Although most of the species showed statistically significant negative effects, the pollination and reproduction of self-incompatible species were as likely to decline with fragmentation as those of self-compatible species. 2. Are pollination and reproductive success of specialist plants more affected than the pollination and reproduction of generalist plants? Comparisons of fragmentation-related changes in pollination and reproductive success between specialists and generalists do not support the hypothesis that specialization in pollination increases the risk of plant extinction. 3. Can self-incompatible species offset their expected higher vulnerability to fragmentation by being, on average, more pollination generalist than self-compatible species? In a larger data set on 260 species, we did not find significant differences in either the mean number or frequency distribution of numbers of flower-visiting species or orders between self-compatible and self-incompatible species. Our review suggests that no generalizations can be made on susceptibility to fragmentation based on compatibility system and pollination specialization.

Subfields: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Genetics, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e3d6c5d1a3c1a0db901a97b00582761f4470a31c

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

1. Martin Hermy
2. S. Lavergne
3. H. Jacquemyn
4. T. Knight
5. J. Willems
6. P. Weston
7. F. Van Rossum
8. Ludwig Triest

In Genetics

1. Martin Hermy
2. P. Weston
3. F. Van Rossum
4. Ludwig Triest
5. R. Mitchell
6. Michele R. Dudash
7. D. Ayre
8. J. Vamosi

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. Martin Hermy
2. H. Jacquemyn
3. S. Lavergne
4. L. De Bruyn
5. Martin Burd
6. T. Knight
7. J. Willems
8. F. Van Rossum

Citations in the corpus

• Does nectar reward affect rarity and extinction probabilities of orchid species? An assessment using historical records from Belgium and the Netherlands (2005, background): “In their review of the influence of plant breeding system and pollination specialization on the reproductive response of plants to habitat fragmentation, Aizen et al. (2002) also found no evidence for the hypothesis that pollination specialization was related to susceptibility to fragmentation.”
• Pollen Limitation of Plant Reproduction: Pattern and Process (2005, background): “Furthermore, self-incompatible plants with specialized pollinator may be particularly prone to pollen limitation following habitat fragmentation (Bond 1994), although there are not enough studies of pollination within fragmented landscapes to make generalizations at this time (Aizen et al. 2002).”
• Reproductive success and pollinator effectiveness differ in common and rare Persoonia species (Proteaceae) (2005, background): “The interaction between the quantity and quality of pollen a plant receives and the level of selfcompatibility determines the degree to which reproductive success is affected by fragmentation (Aizen et al., 2002).”
• Fingerprints of environmental change on the rare mediterranean flora: a 115‐year study (2006, result): “This is consistent with previous studies where pollination and breeding systems poorly predicted species response to habitat fragmentation (Aizen et al., 2002; Jacquemyn et al., 2005).”
• Pollination and other ecosystem services produced by mobile organisms: a conceptual framework for the effects of land-use change. (2007, unknown): “The response of bee individuals, populations and communities to land-use change is largely driven by the spatial and temporal distribution of floral, nesting and over-wintering”
• Effects of fragmentation on pollinator abundance and fruit set of an abundant understory palm in a Mexican tropical forest (2008, result): “…et al., 1999; Cunningham, 2000; Ghazoul and McLeish, 2001; Murren, 2002; Quesada et al., 2003; Harris and Johnson, 2004; Kolb, 2005), other researchers have reported findings similar to ours (Cascante et al., 2002; Aguilar and Galetto, 2004; Herrerias-Diego et al., 2006; Ramos and Santos, 2006).”
• Reduced reproductive success in small populations of the self‐incompatible Primula vulgaris (2004, background): “Moreover, sustainability is even more affected for plant species showing a self-incompatible breeding system (Byers & Meagher 1992; but see Aizen et al . 2002 ).”