Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Datta, Adrija, Dubey, Sarth, Gouhier, Tarik C., Ganguly, Auroop R., Bhatia, Udit
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19879
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908340605419520
author Datta, Adrija
Dubey, Sarth
Gouhier, Tarik C.
Ganguly, Auroop R.
Bhatia, Udit
author_facet Datta, Adrija
Dubey, Sarth
Gouhier, Tarik C.
Ganguly, Auroop R.
Bhatia, Udit
contents Anthropogenic warming impacts ecological communities and disturbs species interactions, particularly in temperature sensitive plant pollinator networks. While previous assessments indicate that rising mean temperatures and shifting temporal variability universally elevate pollinator extinction risk, many studies often overlook how plant-pollinator networks of different ecoregions require distinct management approaches. Here, we integrate monthly near-surface temperature projections from various Shared Socioeconomic Pathways of CMIP6 Earth System Models with region-specific thermal performance parameters to simulate population dynamics in 11 plant pollinator networks across tropical, temperate, and Mediterranean ecosystems. Our results show that tropical networks, already near their thermal limits, face pronounced (50 percent) pollinator declines under high-emissions scenarios (SSP5-8.5). Multi-species management targeting keystone plants emerges as a critical strategy for stabilizing these high risk tropical systems, boosting both pollinator abundance and evenness. In contrast, temperate networks remain well below critical temperature thresholds, with minimal (5 percent) pollinator declines and negligible gains from any intensive management strategy. These findings challenge single-species models and uniform-parameter frameworks, which consistently underestimate tropical vulnerability while overestimating temperate risk. We demonstrate that explicitly incorporating complex network interactions, region-specific thermal tolerances, and targeted multi species interventions is vital for maintaining pollination services. By revealing when and where limited interventions suffice versus extensive management becomes indispensable, our study provides a clear blueprint for adaptive, ecosystem specific management under accelerating climate change.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_19879
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Warming demands extensive tropical but minimal temperate management in plant-pollinator networks
Datta, Adrija
Dubey, Sarth
Gouhier, Tarik C.
Ganguly, Auroop R.
Bhatia, Udit
Populations and Evolution
Anthropogenic warming impacts ecological communities and disturbs species interactions, particularly in temperature sensitive plant pollinator networks. While previous assessments indicate that rising mean temperatures and shifting temporal variability universally elevate pollinator extinction risk, many studies often overlook how plant-pollinator networks of different ecoregions require distinct management approaches. Here, we integrate monthly near-surface temperature projections from various Shared Socioeconomic Pathways of CMIP6 Earth System Models with region-specific thermal performance parameters to simulate population dynamics in 11 plant pollinator networks across tropical, temperate, and Mediterranean ecosystems. Our results show that tropical networks, already near their thermal limits, face pronounced (50 percent) pollinator declines under high-emissions scenarios (SSP5-8.5). Multi-species management targeting keystone plants emerges as a critical strategy for stabilizing these high risk tropical systems, boosting both pollinator abundance and evenness. In contrast, temperate networks remain well below critical temperature thresholds, with minimal (5 percent) pollinator declines and negligible gains from any intensive management strategy. These findings challenge single-species models and uniform-parameter frameworks, which consistently underestimate tropical vulnerability while overestimating temperate risk. We demonstrate that explicitly incorporating complex network interactions, region-specific thermal tolerances, and targeted multi species interventions is vital for maintaining pollination services. By revealing when and where limited interventions suffice versus extensive management becomes indispensable, our study provides a clear blueprint for adaptive, ecosystem specific management under accelerating climate change.
title Warming demands extensive tropical but minimal temperate management in plant-pollinator networks
topic Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19879