Concern grows about the plight of bees and other key insects that function as pollinators of wild and commercial plants in many regions. In a new study, Jane Memmott, at the University of Bristol, and Nicholas Waser and Mary Price at the University of California, Riverside, report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, published online, modeling analysis of the possible impact of pollinator loss on two classic studies of plant-pollinator interactions. The researchers’ plan was to analyse how pollination networks respond to the loss of component pollinator species. Evidence is accruing that pollinator loss can lead to the extinction of plant species. Loss of floral resources is also a key threat facing pollinating insects. However, the patterns of extinction within entire pollination networks remain unknown. The authors used exhaustive data from classic studies by Clements and Lang from Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, published in 1923, and work by Robertson in the prairie-forest transition of western Illinois published in 1929.
