The importance of phylogenetic distance and functional-trait dissimilarity between alien and native plant species in the formation of novel pollination mutualisms

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Biological invasions offer unique real-time opportunities to study the assembly of communities, as many alien organisms have integrated into native resident communities, and novel biotic interactions have been established. There are two apparently contradicting major concepts on the roles of novel plant-pollinator interactions in the assembly of invaded communities. First, alien plant species that can use the same pollinators as the native plant species should more readily attract pollinators and establish successfully (pollinator facilitation or filtering). Second, alien plant species that can use different pollinators from the natives should more readily attract pollinators in the local community, and thus form novel plant-pollinator interactions (pollinator-mediated competition). Here, I propose several innovative approaches to test the importance of phylogenetic distance and dissimilarity in functionally important floral and flowering related traits between alien and native plant species in novel plant-pollinator interactions involving alien plant species and native pollinators. First, using data collected from trait databases and botanical gardens, I will test whether the combination of multiple floral traits influences the integration of alien plant species into novel local floras, and how this relates to the phylogenetic distance between the alien and the native plant species. Second, in a field experiment, I will test whether flower visitation and fitness of experimentally added alien plants are influenced by phylogenetic distance and/or floral trait dissimilarity between the alien and the native plant species in multiple communities in temperate and tropical sites. Third, in a greenhouse experiment, I will test whether the effect of pollen interference on both native and alien plant species is influenced by phylogenetic distance and floral trait dissimilarity. Overall, the proposed research will allow testing for the first time the importance of phylogenetic distance and floral trait dissimilarity between alien and native plant species in the formation of novel pollination mutualisms.