Biodiversity ensures plant–pollinator phenological synchrony against climate change

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 16; no. 11; pp. 1331 - 1338
• Main Authors: Bartomeus, Ignasi, Park, Mia G, Gibbs, Jason, Danforth, Bryan N, Lakso, Alan N, Winfree, Rachael, Eubanks, Micky
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Science 01.11.2013; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Apoidea; apples; Bees; Bees - physiology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Climate Change; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; crop pollination; Earth, ocean, space; Ecology; ecosystem function; ecosystem services; Ekologi; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; flowering; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; global warming; Malus; Malus - physiology; Meteorology; Phenology; Plant reproduction; pollination; Pollination - physiology; pollinators; response diversity; Retrospective Studies; simulation models; Species Specificity; stabilising mechanism; Synecology; ecosystem function; response diversity; crop pollination; Synchronism; Biodiversity; Bees; Pollination; Dynamical climatology; Climate change; Pollinator; Phenology; Ecosystem functioning; Ecosystem services; stabilising mechanism; pollination; phenology; ecosystem services
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.12170

Climate change has the potential to alter the phenological synchrony between interacting mutualists, such as plants and their pollinators. However, high levels of biodiversity might buffer the negative effects of species‐specific phenological shifts and maintain synchrony at the community level, as predicted by the biodiversity insurance hypothesis. Here, we explore how biodiversity might enhance and stabilise phenological synchrony between a valuable crop, apple and its native pollinators. We combine 46 years of data on apple flowering phenology with historical records of bee pollinators over the same period. When the key apple pollinators are considered altogether, we found extensive synchrony between bee activity and apple peak bloom due to complementarity among bee species’ activity periods, and also a stable trend over time due to differential responses to warming climate among bee species. A simulation model confirms that high biodiversity levels can ensure plant–pollinator phenological synchrony and thus pollination function.