A framework for comparing pollinator performance: effectiveness and efficiency

Gidi Ne’eman

doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00108.x

Return

A framework for comparing pollinator performance: effectiveness and efficiency

2010-07-08

317

PRE

Gidi Ne’eman

Andreas Jürgens

Linda E. Newstrom‐Lloyd

Simon G. Potts

Amots Dafni *

DOI：10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00108.x

Original

Original request for help

Save

Abstract

En 中文

Measuring pollinator performance has become increasingly important with emerging needs for risk assessment in conservation and sustainable agriculture that require multi-year and multi-site comparisons across studies. However, comparing pollinator performance across studies is difficult because of the diversity of concepts and disparate methods in use. Our review of the literature shows many unresolved ambiguities. Two different assessment concepts predominate: the first estimates stigmatic pollen deposition and the underlying pollinator behaviour parameters, while the second estimates the pollinator's contribution to plant reproductive success, for example in terms of seed set. Both concepts include a number of parameters combined in diverse ways and named under a diversity of synonyms and homonyms. However, these concepts are overlapping because pollen deposition success is the most frequently used proxy for assessing the pollinator's contribution to plant reproductive success. We analyse the diverse concepts and methods in the context of a new proposed conceptual framework with a modular approach based on pollen deposition, visit frequency, and contribution to seed set relative to the plant's maximum female reproductive potential. A system of equations is proposed to optimize the balance between idealised theoretical concepts and practical operational methods. Our framework permits comparisons over a range of floral phenotypes, and spatial and temporal scales, because scaling up is based on the same fundamental unit of analysis, the single visit.

Keywords:

pollen deposition

pollen quality

pollinator performance

pollinator effectiveness

pollination efficiency

seed set

visit frequency

AI Summary

Key information extracted from the uploaded paper, including a brief overview, abstract, background, key highlights, visual analysis, and future outlook.