The interactions between ants and certain sap-feeding insects in the order Hemiptera are classic examples of food-for-protection mutualisms. In these associations, herbivorous hemipterans use a highly specialized, straw-like mouthpart to consume sap directly from plant phloem and xylem and, as a res

Variation in flowering plant density can have conflicting effects on pollination and seed production. Dense flower patches may attract more pollinators, but flowers in those patches may also compete for pollinator visits and abiotic resources. We examined how natural and experimental conspecific flo

1. We revisited bumble bee survey data collected by Pyke in 1974 (Pyke, Ecology , 63 , 555–573, 1982) to evaluate seasonal changes in abundances of bumble bees and their floral resources, diel patterns of bumble bee activity, and elevation effects on plant and bumble bee phenology. 2. Bumble bee abu

Some plant pathogens attract pollinating insects and thus have the potential to influence the pollination of flowers, just as different flower species can influence one another's pollination. Showy, flower—like pseudoflowers caused by the rust fungus Puccinia monoica on Arabis holboellii (Brassicace

AbstractAimThe recently proposed maximum entropy theory of ecology predicts that all nested species–area relationships (SARs) will collapse to a single, universal curve that exhibits a decreasing log–log slope with increasing scale, suggesting that the power law form of the SAR is invalid at any sca

Dispersal among spatially subdivided populations and variability in local habitat patch quality can strongly affect local and regional population dynamics. A metapopulation of mayflies (Callibaetis ferrugineus hageni) was studied in which larvae developed in beaver ponds and emerged to the terrestri

Understanding the causes and limits of population divergence in phenotypic traits is a fundamental aim of evolutionary biology, with the potential to yield predictions of adaptation to environmental change. Reciprocal transplant experiments and the evaluation of optimality models suggest that local

It is concluded that predation alone cannot explain variation in population dynamics of either mayfly species; and the relative importance of predation is species- and environment-specific compared to non-predatory losses, such as other agents of mortality and non-consumptive effects of predators.

Recent research shows that fungal exploitation of pollinators has the potential to affect floral evolution, pollination ecology, plant life history traits, as well as disease-transmission dynamics and fungal evolution.

• Premise of the study: Plants are flowering earlier in response to climate change. However, substantial interannual variation in phenology may make it difficult to discern and compare long‐term trends. In addition to providing insight on data requirements for discerning such trends, phenological sh

Results of this study suggest that the wing whistle of male broad-tailed hummingbirds is important in maintenance of courting territories and hence in reproductive success.

By sampling standing crop of nectar in a D. nelsonii population during periods of both high and low bumblebee abundance evidence was gathered indicating that hot and cold spots are caused by bumblebees.

The hypothesis that a sychrony of the time of seed dispersal and the period when most ants (mutualists) and least rodents (predators) are active would be advantageous to the plant species is discussed.

Climate change is affecting both the timing of life history events and the spatial distributions of many species, including plants and pollinators. Shifts in phenology and range affect not only individual plant and pollinator species but also interactions among them, with possible negative consequen

Based on previous studies, extreme ( 99%) self‐sterility in scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) appears to be involved in late‐acting ovarian self‐incompatibility (OSI). Here, we confirm this suggestion by comparing structural events that follow from cross‐ vs. self‐pollinations of I. aggregata. Gro

Abstract Groundwater interactions with mountain streams are often simplified in model projections, potentially leading to inaccurate estimates of streamflow response to climate change. Here, using a high-resolution, integrated hydrological model extending 400 m into the subsurface, we find groundwat

Phenotypic manipulations of two or more traits in combination provide a direct way of testing for selection of floral trait associations. Such experiments will be particularly valuable if rooted in hypotheses about differences between types of pollinators and tied to a proposed evolutionary history.