Comparison of the ecology and evolution of plants with a generalist bird pollination system between continents and islands worldwide

Abstract

Thousands of plant species worldwide are dependent on birds for pollination. While the ecology and evolution of interactions between specialist nectarivorous birds and the plants they pollinate is relatively well understood, very little is known on pollination by generalist birds. The flower characters of this pollination syndrome are clearly defined but the geographical distribution patterns, habitat preferences and ecological factors driving the evolution of generalist-bird-pollinated plant species have never been analysed. Herein I provide an overview, compare the distribution of character states for plants growing on continents with those occurring on oceanic islands and discuss the environmental factors driving the evolution of both groups. The ecological niches of generalist-bird-pollinated plant species differ: on continents these plants mainly occur in habitats with pronounced climatic seasonality whereas on islands generalist-bird-pollinated plant species mainly occur in evergreen forests. Further, on continents generalist-bird-pollinated plant species are mostly shrubs and other large woody species producing numerous flowers with a self-incompatible reproductive system, while on islands they are mostly small shrubs producing fewer flowers and are self-compatible. This difference in character states indicates that diverging ecological factors are likely to have driven the evolution of these groups: on continents, plants that evolved generalist bird pollination escape from pollinator groups that tend to maintain self-pollination by installing feeding territories in single flowering trees or shrubs, such as social bees or specialist nectarivorous birds. This pattern is more pronounced in the New compared to the Old World. By contrast, on islands, plants evolved generalist bird pollination as an adaptation to birds as a reliable pollinator group, a pattern previously known from plants pollinated by specialist nectarivorous birds in tropical mountain ranges. Additionally, I discuss the evolutionary origins of bird pollination systems in comparison to systems involving specialist nectarivorous birds and reconstruct the bird pollination system of Hawaii, which may represent an intermediate between a specialist and generalist bird pollination system. I also discuss the interesting case of Australia, where it is difficult to distinguish between specialist and generalist bird pollination systems.

Keywords: Australia; Hawaiian honeycreepers; breeding system; climatic seasonality; elevation; flowering phenology; honeyeaters; hummingbird; sunbirds.