Are there good examples in which the lack off pollinators prevent plant invasions? So a direct relation between the lack of pollinators and subsequent failure to become invasive. There are number of examples in which the lack of pollinators does limit plant invasions, but other than fig-wasp interactions, are there any good examples in which the lack of a plant species becoming invasive can be ascribed to the lack of pollination?
Dear Sjirk,
One of the basic assumptions of invasive species is a competitive advantage over naturally occurring species. Invasive insect-bearing plants are very often pollinated by generalist pollinators. Successfully invasive plant species also often bloom at a time when the natural flora no longer blooms, making them the exclusive food source for many pollinators in a given phenological period.
At a general level, therefore, I would conclude that a plant strictly dependent on specific pollinators, or limited insufficient pollinators, has no potential to become an invasive species.
Thanks Marian! You are prompting another question here:) So to determine if – and to what extent – pollination could prevent a plant species from invading (as per the barriers of Blackburn et al 2011), we should study introduced plants that are not naturalized. Which begs the question, why do most studies (including my own) consider already invasive or naturalized plant species when studying pollination as a barrier?
Hello folks; I'm new to this particular topic so please be patient. How to know which species might become invasive? Does the pollination phenology, as Sjirk suggests, give you a clue about who the good candidates are? In not, how would you decide on who to study? And, how would you test the hypothesis without risking an actual invasion? Cheers, Jim Des Lauriers
I don't know how well documented this, but is 'well known' that cultivated fig (Ficus) species only become invasive if the species-specific pollinator is introduced too. There are examples from Florida, Brazil, Hawaii, and - attached - Hong Kong.
What we see here in Kerala (India) is that most of the invasive plants that invaded in large scale are high competitors in terms of their potential in vegetative propagation. Recently, I have seen root development even from leaf petiole on Alternanthera braziliana during the heavy raining season! Such plants would survive and spread at a rapid rate even with zero fruit set. Further, most of them are apomictic as well.
Phyllanthus reticulatus, an widespread Asian species with species specific pollinator (Epicephala moth), is found in Jamaica (whence named P. jamaicensis
( Grisebach 1859 ) but never set fruits and thus failed to become invasive. This might be a good example.
Shi-Xiao Luo, Hans-Joachim Esser, Dianxiang Zhang, and Susanne S. Renner.
Nuclear ITS Sequences Help Disentangle Phyllanthus reticulatus (Phyllanthaceae),
an Asian Species not Occurring in Africa, but Introduced to Jamaica Systematic Botany, 36(1):99-104. 2011.
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