Animal Pollination Under Human-Induced Rapid Environmental Change

Pollination is a key ecological function that ensures plant reproductive success and has important implications at multiple levels of biological organization. Animal pollination emerged 280 million years ago and promoted the diversification of angiosperms and pollinators. Currently, 90% of flowering plant species, including most crops, require animals to maximize their reproduction. However, human-induced rapid environmental change is threatening these mutualistic interactions. Pressures such as land use and climate change are modifying the probability of interaction between plants and pollinators as they impact species abundances, timing, and space use. Moreover, the interaction efficiency itself is also modified when pollen deposition quantity and quality are affected. Yet, we still have a limited understanding of the consequences of these changes for plant reproduction and when pollen limitation occurs. Combining the impact of multiple pressures with a mechanistic knowledge of the pollination function should guide future efforts to conserve animal pollination.