The impact of climate change on plants and their interactions with pollinators

Authors: Brunet, Johanne; MULDER, CHRISTA - University Of Alaska

Submitted to: Botany
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/11/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/a

Technical Abstract: Climate change creates new environmental conditions to which plants and pollinators must adjust or move to more favorable habitats. Climate change is already altering the mean and variance of temperature and water availability around the world. In high-altitude and northern environments, plants must adapt quickly to the new environmental conditions created by climate change as they are sessile and have few new suitable habitats to colonize. Environmental conditions have been shown to affect flowering phenology, timing of pollinator emergence and plant traits influencing pollinator attraction. Changes in these traits raise the potential for trophic mismatches for plants and their pollinators, with consequences for plant reproduction and food production. This symposium will examine the potential impact of climate change on plant/pollinator interactions and its consequences. It will feature talks from regions where the impact of climate change on plant/pollinator interactions is of high concern, e.g., areas with short, highly synchronized flowering seasons such as boreal and alpine areas, and in the tropics where wild pollinators play a major role in crop production. For high-latitude or high-altitude regions, topics will include the impact of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators at the community level, expected changes in visual and olfactory floral traits associated with pollinator attraction in high-altitude environments, and the impact of higher temperatures in the year prior to flowering on flowering phenology of boreal plants and consequences for pollinators and frugivores. In the tropics, where wild pollinators still play an important role in agricultural production, we will discuss the potential consequences of climate change on pollinators and food production. The goal of this symposium is to compare rapidly changing interactions between plants and their pollinators across environments in order to identify commonalities and habitat-specific differences that will lead to more targeted research and better predictions for future interactions.