Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship
Many flowering plants rely on pollination for their reproductive success, but the introduction of non-native plants can impact these essential plant-pollinator relationships. Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum is a rare salt marsh plant that has been known to benefit from insect pollination, and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Enviroquest Ltd.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Pollination Ecology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/837 |
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| author | Kylie Etter Denise Knapp Sarah Cusser |
| author_facet | Kylie Etter Denise Knapp Sarah Cusser |
| author_sort | Kylie Etter |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Many flowering plants rely on pollination for their reproductive success, but the introduction of non-native plants can impact these essential plant-pollinator relationships. Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum is a rare salt marsh plant that has been known to benefit from insect pollination, and its habitat is being encroached on by the non-native Limonium duriusculum. We use plant-pollinator observation, network analysis, and small-scale experimental removal of L. duriusculum to understand which insects are visiting C. maritimum maritimum, and the impact, if any, of L. durisiculum on C. maritimum maritimum pollination and the plant-pollinator network. We documented infrequent visitation to C. maritimum maritimum at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California, USA, with native bees being the only observed C. maritimum maritimum visitors. We found that the pollinator composition of C. maritimum maritimum and L. duriusculum were significantly different. The vast majority (96%) of L. duriusculum visitors were two non-native insect species (Hymenoptera: Apis mellifera and Diptera: Eristalinus aeneus), neither of which entered C. maritimum maritimum flowers. The experimental removal of L. duriusculum had no effect on C. maritimum maritimum visitation. However, the plant-pollinator network was more nested, more connected and had higher specialization when L. duriusculum was removed. Future studies should implement larger-scale removal to further investigate these findings. Additionally, subsequent work should investigate if there is adequate nesting habitat for C. maritimum maritimum pollinators in surrounding areas, to ensure the survival of the few plant-pollinator interactions this rare plant currently maintains.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1b6dbd281d8b48baae2c9eaebb1787ec |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1920-7603 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Enviroquest Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Pollination Ecology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1b6dbd281d8b48baae2c9eaebb1787ec2025-08-20T03:12:31ZengEnviroquest Ltd.Journal of Pollination Ecology1920-76032025-05-0110.26786/1920-7603(2025)837Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationshipKylie Etter0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0310-7040Denise Knapp1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4213-6032Sarah Cusser2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0100-026XSanta Barbara Botanic GardenSanta Barbara Botanic GardenSanta Barbara Botanic Garden Many flowering plants rely on pollination for their reproductive success, but the introduction of non-native plants can impact these essential plant-pollinator relationships. Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum is a rare salt marsh plant that has been known to benefit from insect pollination, and its habitat is being encroached on by the non-native Limonium duriusculum. We use plant-pollinator observation, network analysis, and small-scale experimental removal of L. duriusculum to understand which insects are visiting C. maritimum maritimum, and the impact, if any, of L. durisiculum on C. maritimum maritimum pollination and the plant-pollinator network. We documented infrequent visitation to C. maritimum maritimum at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California, USA, with native bees being the only observed C. maritimum maritimum visitors. We found that the pollinator composition of C. maritimum maritimum and L. duriusculum were significantly different. The vast majority (96%) of L. duriusculum visitors were two non-native insect species (Hymenoptera: Apis mellifera and Diptera: Eristalinus aeneus), neither of which entered C. maritimum maritimum flowers. The experimental removal of L. duriusculum had no effect on C. maritimum maritimum visitation. However, the plant-pollinator network was more nested, more connected and had higher specialization when L. duriusculum was removed. Future studies should implement larger-scale removal to further investigate these findings. Additionally, subsequent work should investigate if there is adequate nesting habitat for C. maritimum maritimum pollinators in surrounding areas, to ensure the survival of the few plant-pollinator interactions this rare plant currently maintains. https://www.pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/837Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimumnon-native plantsnon-native pollinatorsPlant-pollinator networksrare plant pollination |
| spellingShingle | Kylie Etter Denise Knapp Sarah Cusser Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship Journal of Pollination Ecology Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum non-native plants non-native pollinators Plant-pollinator networks rare plant pollination |
| title | Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship |
| title_full | Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship |
| title_fullStr | Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship |
| title_short | Rare plant’s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant-pollinator relationship |
| title_sort | rare plant s need for native pollinators threatened by invasive plant pollinator relationship |
| topic | Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum non-native plants non-native pollinators Plant-pollinator networks rare plant pollination |
| url | https://www.pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/837 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kylieetter rareplantsneedfornativepollinatorsthreatenedbyinvasiveplantpollinatorrelationship AT deniseknapp rareplantsneedfornativepollinatorsthreatenedbyinvasiveplantpollinatorrelationship AT sarahcusser rareplantsneedfornativepollinatorsthreatenedbyinvasiveplantpollinatorrelationship |