Successful invaders co-opt pollinators of native flora and accumulate insect pollinators with increasing residence time
Abstract
Alien flora introduced to Central Europe contained a higher proportion of insect-pollinated species than did the Central European native flora and linked to a higher diversity of pollinators per species. However, the frequency of pollination modes in the introduced alien flora gradually changed during the process of naturalization, becoming more similar to that of native species, and eventually, the naturalized species that became invasive did not differ in their frequency of pollination modes from native species.
The results further suggest a remarkable role for pollination mode in successful invasions; self pollination tends to support spread of neophytes more than any other mode of pollination. Moreover, groups of plants that have been provided with longer time to sample a wider range of habitats than recently arriving alien species have formed more associations with native pollinator species occurring in those habitats.