University of Tasmania
Browse

Non-additive effects of genotypic diversity increase floral abundance and abundance of floral visitors

Download (193.33 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 04:47 authored by Genung, MA, Lessard, JP, Brown, CB, Bunn, WA, Cregger, MA, Reynolds, WN, Felker-Quinn, E, Stevenson, ML, Hartley, AS, Crutsinger, GM, Schweitzer, JA, Bailey, JK
Background In the emerging field of community and ecosystem genetics, genetic variation and diversity in dominant plant species have been shown to play fundamental roles in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, the importance of intraspecific genetic variation and diversity to floral abundance and pollinator visitation has received little attention. Methodology/Principal Findings Using an experimental common garden that manipulated genotypic diversity (the number of distinct genotypes per plot) of Solidago altissima, we document that genotypic diversity of a dominant plant can indirectly influence flower visitor abundance. Across two years, we found that 1) plant genotype explained 45% and 92% of the variation in flower visitor abundance in 2007 and 2008, respectively; and 2) plant genotypic diversity had a positive and non-additive effect on floral abundance and the abundance of flower visitors, as plots established with multiple genotypes produced 25% more flowers and received 45% more flower visits than would be expected under an additive model. Conclusions/Significance These results provide evidence that declines in genotypic diversity may be an important but little considered factor for understanding plant-pollinator dynamics, with implications for the global decline in pollinators due to reduced plant diversity in both agricultural and natural ecosystems.

History

Publication title

PLoS ONE

Volume

5

Pagination

EJ

ISSN

1932-6203

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Place of publication

USA

Rights statement

Copyright: © 2010 Genung et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC