{"title":"Plant–pollinator interaction model with separate pollen and nectar dynamics","authors":"Tomás A. Revilla","doi":"10.1016/j.jtbi.2025.112096","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The mutualism between plants and pollinators involves the exchange between plant resources and pollen dispersal services among con-specific plants. Since many pollinators are generalist foragers, the quality of pollination is compromised by inter-specific pollen transfer (IPT). This article proposes a mechanistic approach to model plant–pollinator interactions that considers the dynamics of pollen pick-up and its delivery to con-specific and hetero-specific targets, in parallel but separated from the consumption dynamics of plant rewards by the pollinators. This mechanism can model the interference effect caused by IPT on plant fitness, and predicts saturating effects on the quantity and efficiency of pollination. By coupling the mechanism with population dynamics, the resulting model demonstrates how plant–pollinator associations can shift between net mutualism and parasitism, depending on the ecological context and species traits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Theoretical Biology","volume":"606 ","pages":"Article 112096"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Theoretical Biology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519325000621","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The mutualism between plants and pollinators involves the exchange between plant resources and pollen dispersal services among con-specific plants. Since many pollinators are generalist foragers, the quality of pollination is compromised by inter-specific pollen transfer (IPT). This article proposes a mechanistic approach to model plant–pollinator interactions that considers the dynamics of pollen pick-up and its delivery to con-specific and hetero-specific targets, in parallel but separated from the consumption dynamics of plant rewards by the pollinators. This mechanism can model the interference effect caused by IPT on plant fitness, and predicts saturating effects on the quantity and efficiency of pollination. By coupling the mechanism with population dynamics, the resulting model demonstrates how plant–pollinator associations can shift between net mutualism and parasitism, depending on the ecological context and species traits.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Theoretical Biology is the leading forum for theoretical perspectives that give insight into biological processes. It covers a very wide range of topics and is of interest to biologists in many areas of research, including:
• Brain and Neuroscience
• Cancer Growth and Treatment
• Cell Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology
• Evolution
• Immunology,
• Infectious and non-infectious Diseases,
• Mathematical, Computational, Biophysical and Statistical Modeling
• Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry
• Networks and Complex Systems
• Physiology
• Pharmacodynamics
• Animal Behavior and Game Theory
Acceptable papers are those that bear significant importance on the biology per se being presented, and not on the mathematical analysis. Papers that include some data or experimental material bearing on theory will be considered, including those that contain comparative study, statistical data analysis, mathematical proof, computer simulations, experiments, field observations, or even philosophical arguments, which are all methods to support or reject theoretical ideas. However, there should be a concerted effort to make papers intelligible to biologists in the chosen field.