Generalization versus specialization in plant pollination systems

• Published in: Trends in Ecology & Evolution Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 140 - 143
• Main Authors: Johnson, Steven D., Steiner, Kim E.
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptive radiation; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Breeding systems; Conservation biology; Extinction; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Natural selection; Phylogenetic constraints; Plants and fungi; Pollination syndromes; Reproductive isolation; Speciation; Southern Hemisphere; Breeding systems; Conservation biology; Adaptive radiation; Pollination syndromes; Reproductive isolation; Extinction; Ecology; Plant science; Phylogenetic constraints; Speciation; Adaptation; Natural selection; Insect pollination; Specificity; Spermatophyta; Animal plant relation; Angiospermae; Pollination
• ISSN: 0169-5347; 1872-8383
• DOI: 10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01811-X

The long-standing notion that most angiosperm flowers are specialized for pollination by particular animal types, such as birds or bees, has been challenged recently on the basis of apparent widespread generalization in pollination systems. At the same time, biologists working mainly in the tropics and the species-rich temperate floras of the Southern hemisphere are documenting pollination systems that are remarkably specialized, often involving a single pollinator species. Current studies are aimed at understanding: (1) the ecological forces that have favoured either generalization or specialization in particular lineages and regions; (2) the implications for selection on floral traits and divergence of populations; and (3) the risk of collapse in plant–pollinator mutualisms of varying specificity.