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Non-additive effects of herbivores and pollinators on Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) fitness

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

In this study, the non-additivity of effects of herbivores and pollinator on fitness of the plant Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) has been experimentally tested. The abundance and diversity of the pollinator assemblage of plants excluded from and exposed to mammalian herbivores, and the combined effect of pollinators and herbivores on plant reproduction were determined over a period of 2 years. Pollinator abundance was higher and diversity was lower on plants excluded from herbivores. Furthermore, the experimental exclusions demonstrated that both pollinators and herbivores affected plant fitness, but their effects were not independent. Herbivores only had a detrimental effect on plant fitness when pollinators were present. Similarly, pollinators enhanced fitness only when herbivores were excluded. This outcome demonstrates that the importance of pollinators for plant fitness depends on the occurrence of herbivores, and suggests that herbivores may hamper pollinator-mediated adaptation in plants.

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Acknowledgements

I sincerely thank Adela González Megías, Pablo Almaraz and Carolina Puerta Piñero for their help in the field and Mark Lineham for linguistic advice. Identifications were generously provided by Alberto Tinaut (Univ. de Granada; Lepidoptera), J. Carlos Otero (Univ. de Santiago de Compostela; Nitidulidae), Miguel Angel Alonso Zarazaga (CSIC; Curculionidae), Adela González Megías (Univ. de Granada; Malachidae) and Francisco Sánchez Piñero (Univ. de Granada; Meloidae). This work was partially supported by University of Granada Grant 2002-30P-3176 and Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología Grant BOS2003-01095.

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  1. Dpto Biología Animal y Ecología, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain

    José M. Gómez

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  1. José M. Gómez
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Correspondence to José M. Gómez.

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Gómez, J.M. Non-additive effects of herbivores and pollinators on Erysimum mediohispanicum (Cruciferae) fitness. Oecologia 143, 412–418 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1809-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1809-7

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