Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E23
Jonathan Willow (1), Mariana Tamayo (1), Magnús Jóhannsson (2)
1. University of Iceland, 2. Soil Conservation Service of Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Jonathan Willow
Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Mariana Tamayo (mlt@hi.is)
Declines in abundance and diversity of pollinating insects are widely documented throughout Europe. It is estimated that 87.5 % of all flowering plant species rely on pollinators for fruit- and seed production. The spread of the highly-competitive alien plant Lupinus nootkatensis (Nootka lupine) could negatively affect numerous insect taxa, in particular pollinators that specialize in obtaining resources from native flowering plants. The present study aims to observe how pollinator communities may be affected by the spread of L. nootkatensis. It was predicted that pollinator communities of native heath would be more diverse than those of Nootka lupine stands. Between late June and early August 2015, insects found on the flowers of native heath vegetation, as well as those found on the flowers of L. nootkatensis, were collected in Heiðmörk Nature Reserve. Specimens were later identified, and pollinator communities of native heath and L. nootkatensis stands were analyzed. Preliminary analyses indicate that L. nootkatensis negatively affects pollinator diversity compared to native heath.