Abstract
One of the ways to evaluate the success of restoration strategies in degraded areas, in terms of restoring pollination, key process for the reproduction of most angiosperm species, is evaluating species traits, how they respond to changes in the environment and influence their interacting partners. In this study we asked: (i) does the phenological variation, the restoration strategy and the restoration age influence species richness, abundance, species composition and distribution of traits of bees and plants? (ii) do functionally similar species tend to interact with the same mutualistic partners? (iii) what are the most important traits that explain the similarity of interacting partners? We analyzed bee and plant communities in restored areas in the Atlantic Forest. We found that bee richness and abundance did not vary, and plant richness varied temporally. Bee and plant composition changed over time and among restoration strategies. Plant composition also varied with the restoration age. Functional composition, especially of bees, varied little among the tested factors. We also found that species with similar traits tended to interact with similar partners, and bee size, proboscis length and nesting sites were the most important traits to explain the interactions, while for plants, the most important traits were form of life, corolla color and shape. Our study demonstrated that interactions between bees and plants can be mediated by plant phenology and, considering that plant traits filter pollinators’ traits, the choice of plant traits in restoration areas is fundamental for interactions.
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Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate Vinicius Marcilio da Silva and Gabriel A.R. Melo for suggestions in earlier drafts of the manuscript; Bruna L. Dering for her help with the map; Cassiana Bittencourt for her assistance in editing the English-language revision of this paper; the Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education for access to the study sites and logistical support; the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior for the funding. Assistance with identification of specimens was kindly provided by O. Guimarães, R. Goldenberg, O. Ribas, C. Snak, F. Meyer, J. Meirelles, M. Borgo, and P. G. Delprete (plants); G. A. R. Melo, B. Garcete-Barrett, M. Hermes, and D. Urban (Hymenoptera).
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This research was supported by Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CT-Agronegócio/ CT-Hidro (grant 577,336/2008 8), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil (Finance code 001 to CR) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (grants 475,127/2008–0, and 312,580/2020–7 to IGV). The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.
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Ribeiro, C., Varassin, I.G., Pagioro, T.A. et al. Bee and plant traits drive temporal similarity of pollination interactions in areas under distinct restoration strategies. Arthropod-Plant Interactions (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-024-10064-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-024-10064-7