Invasive mutualists erode native pollination webs

Aizen, M.A., Morales, C.L. and Morales, J.M. (2008) Invasive mutualists erode native pollination webs. PLoS Biology, 6(2), e31. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060031) (PMID:18271628) (PMCID:PMC2235906)

Abstract

Plant–animal mutualisms are characterized by weak or asymmetric mutual dependences between interacting species, a feature that could increase community stability. If invasive species integrate into mutualistic webs, they may alter web structure, with consequences for species persistence. However, the effect of alien mutualists on the architecture of plant–pollinator webs remains largely unexplored. We analyzed the extent of mutual dependency between interacting species, as a measure of mutualism strength, and the connectivity of 10 paired plant–pollinator webs, eight from forests of the southern Andes and two from oceanic islands, with different incidences of alien species. Highly invaded webs exhibited weaker mutualism than less-invaded webs. This potential increase in network stability was the result of a disproportionate increase in the importance and participation of alien species in the most asymmetric interactions. The integration of alien mutualists did not alter overall network connectivity, but links were transferred from generalist native species to super-generalist alien species during invasion. Therefore, connectivity among native species declined in highly invaded webs. These modifications in the structure of pollination webs, due to dominance of alien mutualists, can leave many native species subject to novel ecological and evolutionary dynamics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Partial funding by The Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program, CONICET (PIP 5066), and the Universidad Nacional del Comahue (B126/ 04) is acknowledged. The three authors are career researchers of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas y Tecnolo´ gicas of Argentina (CONICET).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Morales, Professor Juan
• Authors: Aizen, M.A., Morales, C.L., and Morales, J.M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: PLoS Biology
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1544-9173
• ISSN (Online): 1545-7885
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 Aizen et al.
• First Published: First published in PLoS Biology 6(2):e31
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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