Teamwork in the Tropics: Pollinators and Frugivores Are Less Choosy at the Equator

ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2012) — The bright crimson Andean Cock-of-the-rock eats the fruits of over 100 plant species and disperses their seeds. It is in good company, since other seed-dispersing birds and pollinating insects in the tropics are also -- contrary to prior doctrine -- less specialised on individual plant species than their temperate counterparts. This is the outcome of a study conducted by an international research group, which is published September 14 in the journal Current Biology. This suggests that ecosystem functions such as pollination and seed dispersal in the tropics have a higher tolerance against extirpations of individual species than in the temperate communities.

It is a win-win business for bees and plants: bees forage on plant nectar, and in return they pollinate the next flower they visit. Virtually the same is true for fruit-eating birds, which by the way disperse the seeds of plants. A large number of such mutualistic interactions between species exist in an ecosystem, which together form a complex network. Scientists have now analysed the "Who with whom?" in a worldwide study and have discovered that the specialization of pollinators and seed disperses on individual plant species decreases towards the equator.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914080638.htm