Work

Depressed pollination in habitat fragments causes low fruit set

Year: 2000

Type: article

Abstract: In central New South Wales, Australia, flowers of Acacia brachybotrya and Eremophila glabra plants growing in linear vegetation remnants received less pollen than conspecifics in nearby reserves. Pollen supplementation increased fruit production by both species, indicating pollen limitation of fruit set. Together these observations explain why fruit production by these species was depressed in linear-strip populations relative to nearby reserves. This study confirms that habitat fragmentation can lead to decline in pollination and subsequent fruit set in wild plant populations. Disrupted pollination interactions of the kind documented in this study may offer a substantial challenge to the conservation of biodiversity in fragmented landscapes.

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1121

Author: S. A. Cunningham

Institution: Macquarie University

Language: English

Topic: Plant and animal studies

Subfield: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: green

Funders: Macquarie University, Australian Research Council