Poster Presented at the AmNat conference in Asilomar, January 2018

1. High
Early Sites
Mixed Sites
Late Sites
MeanLow
Floral Density
PredicteddNumberof
Specialists
Early Sites Mixed Sites Late Sites
FloralDensitySpecialistsGeneralists
May 18 June 1
Things to wonder
The assembly of plant-pollinator
communities is contingent on phenological
matching
We often consider the effects of phenological
cue shifts in plant-pollinator communities
without accounting for the variety of emergence
or blooming cues to which organisms respond
Pollinators can respond to the
same phenological cues as their host
plants to time emergence with blooming;
this should correspond with specialization
How does phenology shape annual
plant-pollinator community assembly?
How localized is pollinator emergence
phenology?
How does pollinator specialization on
plant species shape their phenology?
Things to know
System
Early blooming Late blooming
Co-flowering May-June
Clarkia cylindrica Clarkia unguiculata Clarkia speciosa
Most frequently
observed
visitor in North America
Scopal hairs
accomodate large
pollen
Overwinter as larvae
Hesperapis regularis
Clarkia
Clarkia
Lasioglossum Dialictus spp
Second most frequently
observed visitor in Kern
River Canyon
No physical adaptations
for pollen
Females overwinter as
adults
Clarkia
Unknown
Flight phenology
Emergence cues
Locally
phenologically
adapted?
Specialist Generalist
Approach
Leverage phenological variation in to
examine variation in pollinator phenology
Sample nine communities on rotation
Clarkia
Early 1
Day 1
Early 2
Day 4
Early 3
Day 7
Mixed 1
Day 2
Late 1
Day 3
Mixed 2
Day 5
Mixed 3
Day 8
Late 2
Day 6
Late 3
Day 9
Kern River Canyon
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 9
Day 8
Conclusions
Specialist abundances peak when floral abundances peak in
mixed- and late-blooming Clarkia communities; lag behind floral
abundance in early communities
Prediction: flight times of specialist pollinators will be
more phenologically matched to Clarkia flowering phenology
than generalist pollinators in the same communities
Generalist abundances do not track Clarkia abundance through time
May 18 June 1
May 18 June 1
May 18 June 1
May 18 June 1
May 18 June 1
May 25
May 25
May 25
Specialist abundance best explained
by date and an interaction of floral
density and community type
Specialist Abundance ~
Poly(Date, 2) +
Community Type*Floral Abundance + (1|Site)
The two most frequent
visitors to exhibit different
phenological trends over the
course of the season
Specialists were more sensitive to
floral abundance in late-blooming
Clarkia communities
Specialists and Clarkia may respond
to same local phenological cues
Clarkia
Sample pollinators with pan traps; floral density
with quadrats along transects
Clarkia
Clarkia
Pollinator phenology depends on level of specialization in Clarkia communities
Aubrie James and Elizabeth Magno • Cornell University
Clarkia xantiana