Heated rivalries: Phenological variation modifies competition for pollinators among arctic plants.

ABSTRACT: When plant species compete for pollinators, climate warming may cause directional change in flowering overlap, thereby shifting the strength of pollinator-mediated plant-plant interactions. Such shifts are likely accentuated in the rapidly warming Arctic. Targeting a plant community in Northeast Greenland, we asked (a) whether the relative phenology of plants is shifting with spatial variation in temperature, (b) whether local plants compete for pollination, and (c) whether shifts in climatic conditions are likely to affect this competition. We first searched for climatic imprints on relative species phenology along an elevational gradient. We then tested for signs of competition with increasing flower densities: reduced pollinator visits, reduced representation of plant species in pollen

SUBMITTER: Tiusanen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7693037 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature