Understanding responses of tightly coupled ecological interactions of biota vulnerable to climate change: endangered Australian cycads and their pollinators

澳大利亚苏铁是标志性植物。40种Macrozamia中的大多数都是小而分散的分布，15种是濒危或脆弱的。它们面临着采集者收获和授粉失败的风险，因为与昆虫授粉者的高度专业化关系对它们在自然界的持久性至关重要。当环境温度达到一个阈值时，苏铁会通过提高球果温度来释放化学引诱剂，因此气候变化会影响这些系统。对这种温度依赖关系的理解将有助于预测苏铁和其他紧密耦合的生态相互作用的未来命运。我们的综合方法将产生知识，以帮助管理脆弱的澳大利亚生物多样性。

Australian cycads are iconic plants. Most of the forty Macrozamia species have small, fragmented distributions and fifteen are endangered or vulnerable. They are at risk from harvesting by collectors and pollination failure, because a highly specialised relationship with insect pollinators is crucial to their persistence in nature. Cycads release chemo-attractants by increasing cone temperatures when ambient temperature reaches a threshold, so climate change will affect these systems. An understanding of this temperature-dependent relationship will help predict future fates of cycads and other tightly coupled ecological interactions. Our integrated approach will generate knowledge to help manage vulnerable Australian biodiversity.