The Balance Between Benefit and Detriment in a Plant-Nectar Robber Mutualism

9509563莫里斯生态学家很少关注与其他种类的物种相互作用相关的互惠关系，这可能反映了这样一种态度，即互惠关系是脆弱的结构，容易受到“非合作者”的入侵，这些非合作者从另一个物种中获利，而不提供补偿利益。然而，很少有研究探讨了互惠系统中可能的全部利益和补偿，即使是那些明显的非合作行为很常见的系统。这项拟议中的研究将解决利益和损害之间的平衡，在互惠互利的相互作用之间的恐慌风信子和花蜜抢劫熊蜂。与先入为主的观念相反，花蜜掠夺者，特别是那些也合法访问花朵的人，可能会为植物提供相当于或超过他们在掠夺花蜜时造成的负面影响的好处。在蓝铃花和花蜜强盗相互作用的积极和消极的影响之间的平衡，需要三个新的方法进行充分的探索。首先，有必要衡量花蜜抢劫对植物的雄性和雌性成功的影响。其次，植物的繁殖成功必须以适当的尺度来衡量。第三，必须确定 通过非合作行为获得的奖励的产生实际上是确保植物从兼性花蜜掠夺者获得互利利益所必需的。 这项研究中的实验将是第一个评估花蜜抢劫对整个克隆规模的男性和女性健身的影响。额外的实验将操纵产生花蜜的花朵，以阐明花朵奖励在引起花蜜掠夺传粉者的有益行为中的作用。这些实验将检验一般意义上的互惠关系，特别是植物与传粉者之间的原型互惠关系，是否包含有利和不利的因素。

9509563 Morris That ecologists have paid little attention to mutualisms relative to other kinds of species interactions may reflect the attitude that mutualisms are fragile constructs subject to invasion by "non-cooperators" that profit from another species without providing compensating benefits. However, few studies have explored the full range of possible benefits and detriments in mutualistic systems, even those in which apparently non-cooperative behavior is common. The proposed study will address the balance between benefit and detriment in the mutualistic interaction between panicled bluebells and nectar-robbing bumble bees. Contrary to preconceived notions, nectar-robbers, especially those that also pay legitimate visits to flowers, may provide benefits to the plant that equal or outweigh the negative effects they inflict while nectar-robbing. A full exploration of the balance between positive and negative effects in the bluebell and nectar-robber interaction requires three new approaches. First, it is necessary to measure the impact of nectar-robbery on both the male and female success of the plant. Second, the plant's reproductive success must be measured at an appropriate scale. Third, it is necessary to determine if the production of a reward that is obtained by a non-cooperative behavior is actually necessary to assure that the plant receives a mutualistic benefit from facultative nectar-robbers. The experiments in this study will be the first to assess the effects of nectar-robbery on both male and female fitness measured at the scale of entire clones. Additional experiments will manipulate the nectar-producing flowers to elucidate the role of floral rewards in eliciting beneficial behavior from nectar-robbing pollinators. These experiments will examine whether mutualisms in general, and the archetypal mutualism between plants and their pollinators in particular, contain elements of both benefit and detriment.