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Increased relative abundance of an invasive competitor for pollination, Lythrum salicaria, reduces seed number in Mimulus ringens

  • Plant-Animal interactions - Original Paper
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Abstract

When exotic plant species share pollinators with native species, competition for pollination may lower the reproductive success of natives by reducing the frequency and/or quality of visits they receive. Exotic species often become numerically dominant in plant communities, and the relative abundance of these potential competitors for pollination may be an important determinant of their effects on the pollination and reproductive success of co-occurring native species. Our study experimentally tests whether the presence and abundance of an invasive exotic, Lythrum salicaria L. (Lythraceae), influences reproductive success of a co-flowering native species, Mimulus ringens L. (Phrymaceae). We also examine the mechanisms of competition for pollination and how they may be altered by changes in competitor abundance. We found that the presence of Lythrum salicaria lowered mean seed number in Mimulus ringens fruits. This effect was most pronounced when the invasive competitor was highly abundant, decreasing the number of seeds per fruit by 40% in 2006 and 33% in 2007. Reductions in the number of seeds per fruit were likely due to reduced visit quality resulting from Mimulus pollen loss when bees foraged on neighboring Lythrum plants. This study suggests that visit quality to natives may be influenced by the presence and abundance of invasive flowering plants.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank T. Schuck for assistance propagating Mimulus ringens and J. Reinartz, G. Meyer, and L. Nelson for help with field work. We thank S. Johnson, O. Totland, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from Applied Ecological Services to R. J. F. and grants from the National Science Foundation to J. D. K. (DEB 9816712) and R. J. M. (DEB 9903308). This experiment complies with the current laws of the United States of America.

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  1. Rebecca J. Flanagan

    Present address: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA

    Rebecca J. Flanagan & Jeffrey D. Karron

  2. Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, 44325-3908, USA

    Randall J. Mitchell

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  1. Rebecca J. Flanagan
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Correspondence to Rebecca J. Flanagan.

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Communicated by Steven Johnson.

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Flanagan, R.J., Mitchell, R.J. & Karron, J.D. Increased relative abundance of an invasive competitor for pollination, Lythrum salicaria, reduces seed number in Mimulus ringens . Oecologia 164, 445–454 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1693-2

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