Inoculation order of nectar-borne yeasts opens a door for transient species and changes nectar rewarded to pollinators. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mittelbach, Moritz; Yurkov, Andrey M.; Stoll, Raphael; Begerow, Dominik
• Is Part Of: Fungal ecology. Volume 22(2016:Aug.)
• Page Start: 90
• Page End: 97
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: Nectar yeast -- Badisiomycetes -- Pollination -- Transient species; Fungi -- Ecology -- Periodicals; Mycology -- Periodicals; 579.517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2015.12.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1754-5048

Abstract

Abstract: Nectar-borne yeast communities are species poor assemblages compring is a few specialized taxa (Saccharomycotina) and many transient species. Short flower lifetimes and harsh environmental conditions impose an enormous pressure on nectar-colonizers, which try to overcome these challenges through fast multiplication and osmotolerance. Since these traits are exclusively known for ascomycetes, the origin of multi-species communities is still poorly understood. We conducted field and laboratory experiments to analyze the competition between autochthonous pollinator-borne and transient yeast species in nectar. Subsequently we analyzed the impact of microbial growth on the environment. Our results endorse theories on priority effects and show that yeast incidences in natural flowers, cell densities in microcosms and the environmental impact strongly depend on the inoculation order of the respective yeast species. Transient species are more frequent in flowers visited only once, while specialists require several flower visits to establish common population structures most probably through tough inner-floral competition.