Individuals matter: habitat factors and plant traits shape individual-level pollinator interactions in a semi-arid landscape

Background Plant-pollinator interactions are vital for understanding ecological processes influencing reproductive success in plant communities. While species-level pollinator interactions are important for predicting community stability, it remains equally crucial to understand individual-level interactions of keystone species in the community. This study examined the role of habitat factors and floral traits in shaping pollinator interactions at the individual plant scale of Maytenus senegalensis, a dominant native species in the semi-arid Aravalli Hills. We measured flower production, nectar sugar concentration, flower diameter, and external factors such as percentage soil moisture, distance to habitat edge, and density of co-flowering conspecifics to assess their impact on pollinator interactions and reproductive success.

We found significant variation in reproductive investment in the form of flower production and a trade-off with reward quality, where plants with higher flower production were found to have a lower nectar sugar concentration. Higher flower production negatively influenced reproductive success, suggesting the likelihood of increased within-plant visitation. Eristalinus and Apis were the dominant pollinator genera, and overall, Dipterans were found to play a critical role in maintaining the network stability. The presence of flowering conspecific plants in the neighborhood reduced the pollen deposition, suggesting competitive interactions. Moreover, individual plants were found to show some amount of specialization in their interaction niches. We predict that this could lead to further divergence of interaction niches due to pollinator-mediated competition. Any perturbation to interactions of plants with a high degree of pollinator connectance was found to disproportionately influence the network.

Overall, our results link microhabitat (soil moisture) and neighborhood context to individual interaction niches, demonstrating that allocation trade-offs and conspecific competition jointly shape pollination and fitness. In semi-arid systems, which are undergoing considerable anthropogenic and climatic changes, our study provides insights into individual pollinator interaction niches and the role of microhabitat factors in species persistence within a community. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes The file has been revised to update a few points in the results and discussion sections. The additional file has also been updated.