The Effect of Snowmelt Timing on Pollinator Visitation to Subalpine Wildflowers

Abstract

The plant and pollinator mutualism is under increased stress due to climate change, especially in subalpine ecosystems. Climate change is altering the timing of snowmelt in subalpine ecosystems, which changes the flowering phenology and possible the floral abundance of subalpine plants and therefore can impact plant and pollinator interactions. Data gathered at RMBL shows that the date of earliest snowmelt and mean summer temperature are increasing at an unsustainable rate. To better understand the consequences of snowmelt timing on plant-pollinator interactions, an early snowmelt manipulation was performed and pollinator observations were conducted on four subalpine species at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. The study consists of a numerous pollinator observation sessions in control and early snowmelt plots on 4 species of wildflowers: Delphinium nuttallianum (DENU), Geum triflorum (GETR), Linum lewisii (GETR), and Delphinium barbeyi (DEBA). The four species represent a gradient of phenological flower timing across the growing season beginning with DENU and ending with DEBA. This study aims to allow us to more accurately predict the changes to plant-pollinator interactions in the future as climate change accelerates plant and animal phenology. It was hypothesized that increased likelihood of frost, decreased water availability, and loss of phenological synchrony between wildflowers and pollinators would lead to a lower mean visitation rate and probability of visits in early snowmelt plots compared to the controls. I found that DENU experienced a significantly lower mean visitation rate in early snowmelt plots while LILE experienced significantly higher mean visitation rate. Only DEBA differed significantly the in probability of receiving visit, with a higher probability in early snowmelt. It is possible that as climate change becomes more severe, there will be differential impacts for subalpine plant species and therefore both positive and negative effects on plant and animal interactions. Species that are more resilient to frost and phenological mismatch like LILE may be able to outcompete other more frost and phonologically sensitive species such as DEBA and DENU. More years of study as well as further investigation of species’ reproductive efficacy is needed to support this hypothesis.

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