PARENT SESSION
Oral Session 18: Ecological Theory I: Modeling.
Presiding: R Zabel
Monday, August 2, 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Meeting Room F 152.

A dynamic model of pollinator-plant interactions.

Richards, Shane¹, Harder, Lawrence¹, ¹ Biological Sciences, The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

ABSTRACT- Interactions between pollinators and plants operate over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, nectar renewal within a flower is often on the order of hours; whereas, pollinator movement among flowers is on the order of seconds or minutes. Also, pollinators often appear to base their decision on whether to keep foraging on a plant based on the nectar reward they have received from the last few flowers visited. In order to understand the dynamic feedbacks between nectar depletion and renewal we constructed an age-structured model that incorporates multiple spatial scales (i.e., plant, flower), and multiple temporal scales (i.e. slow nectar renewal, fast flower visitation). The model explicitly incorporates the following pollinator behavior - leave a plant when the reward received from a flower is less than some threshold. We present model predictions regarding the relationship between floral display size, number of flowers visited per pollinator, pollinator intake rate, and the distribution of nectar among flowers. We show that the simple foraging rule produces relationships that are consistent with many field observations. The model demonstrates how plant flowering strategies influence pollinator foraging success. The model also provides insights regarding plant fitness (i.e. pollen import and export), and the evolution of plant mating systems.

Key words: modelling, pollination