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Journal Article

Negative effects of urbanisation on diurnal and nocturnal pollen‐transport networks

Emilie E. Ellis; Jill L. Edmondson; Kathryn H. Maher; Helen Hipperson; Stuart A. Campbell
Ecology Letters · Vol. 26, Issue 8 · pp. 1382-1393 · 2023

Abstract

Pollinating insects are declining due to habitat loss and climate change, and cities with limited habitat and floral resources may be particularly vulnerable. The effects of urban landscapes on pollination networks remain poorly understood, and comparative studies of taxa with divergent niches are lacking. Here, for the first time, we simultaneously compare nocturnal moth and diurnal bee pollen‐transport networks using DNA metabarcoding and ask how pollination networks are affected by increasing urbanisation. Bees and moths exhibited substantial divergence in the communities of plants they interact with. Increasing urbanisation had comparable negative effects on pollen‐transport networks of both taxa, with significant declines in pollen species richness. We show that moths are an important, but overlooked, component of urban pollen‐transport networks for wild flowering plants, horticultural crops, and trees. Our findings highlight the need to include both bee and non‐bee taxa when assessing the status of critical plant‐insect interactions in urbanised landscapes.

Bibliographic Information

JournalEcology Letters
PublisherWiley
Publication Date2023-08-01
Publication Year2023
Volume26
Issue8
Pages1382-1393
Document TypeJournal Article
Print ISSN1461-023X
eISSN1461-0248
DOI10.1111/ele.14261
SubjectEcology & Organismal Biology

Access Information

NARA Access Coverage1998-01-01~Current
Journal Homepagehttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/loi/14610248
Publisher PageOpen Publisher Page
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