Silvana Martén-Rodríguez

• PhD
• Professor at National Autonomous University of Mexico

Climate change is expected to affect the morphological, physiological, and life‐history traits of plants and animal pollinators due to more frequent extreme heat and other altered weather patterns. This systematic literature review evaluates the effects of climate change on plant and pollinator traits on a global scale to determine how species resp...

Despite the widely recognized role of pollinators in ecosystem services, we currently have a poor understanding of the contribution of Natural Protected Areas neighboring agricultural landscapes to crop pollinator diversity and plant-pollinator interactions. Here, we conducted monthly surveys over a period of one year to study the diversity of inse...

Tropical mountain ecosystems harbor diverse biological communities, making them valuable models for exploring the factors that shape ecological interactions along environmental gradients. We investigated the spatial and temporal drivers of plant–hummingbird interaction networks across three forest types (pine‐oak, fir, and subalpine) along a tropic...

The diversification of angiosperms has largely been attributed to adaptive radiation of their pollination and mating systems, which are relevant drivers of the macroevolution processes. The fig ( Ficus , Moraceae) and fig wasp (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera) interaction is an example of obligate mutualism. Passive and active pollination modes have been as...

Background and Aims The majority of the earth's land area is currently occupied by humans. Measuring how terrestrial plants reproduce in these pervasive environments is essential for understanding their long-term viability and their ability to adapt to changing environments. Methods We conducted hierarchical and phylogenetically-independent meta-a...

Bees play a pivotal role as pollinators in crops essential for human consumption. However, the global decline in bee populations poses a significant threat to pollination services and food security worldwide. The loss and degradation of habitats due to land use change are primary factors contributing to bee declines, particularly in tropical forest...

The decline of honey bee populations significantly impacts the human food supply due to poor pollination and yield decreases of essential crop species. Given the reduction of pollinators, research into critical landscape components, such as floral resource availability and land use change, might provide valuable information about the nutritional st...

Bees play a pivotal role as pollinators in crops crucial for human consumption. However, the global decline in bee populations poses a significant threat to pollination services and food security worldwide. The loss and fragmentation of habitats due to land-use change are primary factors contributing to bee declines, particularly in tropical forest...

Intraspecific processes impact macroevolutionary patterns through individual variation, selection, and ecological specialisation. According to the niche variation hypothesis, the broader ecological niche of gen- eralist species results in an increased morphological variation among individuals, either because they are constituted of diversified spec...

Many plant species in high montane ecosystems rely on animal pollination for sexual reproduction, however, our understanding of plant-pollinator interactions in tropical montane habitats is still limited. We compared species diversity and composition of blooming plants and floral visitors, and the structure of plant-floral visitor networks between...

In high mountain environments, the availability of pollinators may decrease as elevation increases, affecting plant reproductive success. Floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are relevant to pollinator attraction; however, few studies have explored the variation of floral VOCs at different elevational sites. We analyzed the floral VOCs, flower...

Premise of the study: Habitat fragmentation negatively affects population size and mating patterns that directly impact progeny fitness and genetic diversity; however, little is known about the effects of habitat fragmentation on dioecious, wind pollinated trees. We assessed the effects of habitat fragmentation on population sex ratios, genetic di...

Plant‐pollinator interactions are fundamental to ecosystem functioning; however, the role that succession and phenology have on these interactions is poorly understood, particularly in endangered tropical ecosystems. In highly diverse ecosystems such as tropical dry forests (TDF), variation in water and food availability determines the life cycles...

Premise: Darwin proposed that self-pollination in allegedly outcrossing species might act as a reproductive assurance mechanism when pollinators or mates are scarce; however, in natural populations, the benefits of selfing may be opposed by seed discounting and inbreeding depression. While empirical studies show variation among species and populat...

Habitat fragmentation is recognized as one of main threats to global biodiversity. Habitat fragmentation negatively affects population size and mutualistic interactions that directly impact plant fitness and genetic diversity; however, little is known about effects on dioecious trees. We assessed the effects of forest fragmentation on plant-pollina...

Habitat fragmentation is recognized as one of main threats to global biodiversity. Habitat fragmentation negatively affects population size and mutualistic interactions that directly impact plant fitness and genetic diversity; however, little is known about effects on dioecious trees. We assessed the effects of forest fragmentation on plant-pollina...

Following publication of the original article, the author group noticed an error related to the presentation of Figs. 4 and 5.

Euglossini is an important tribe of Neotropical bees found primarily in wet forest environments, although their distribution extends to seasonal tropical forests and mountainous grassland habitats. However, little is known about the geography and diversity of euglossine bees in mountain regions, particularly in the Brazilian semi-arid Cerrado veget...

Network analysis is a powerful tool to understand community‐level plant–pollinator interactions. We evaluated the role of floral visitors on plant fitness through a series of pollination exclusion experiments to test the effectiveness of pollinators of an Ipomoea community in the Pacific coast of Mexico, including: (1) all flower visitors, (2) visi...

Premise: Closely related species occurring in sympatry may experience the negative consequences of interspecific pollen transfer if reproductive isolation (RI) barriers are not in place. We evaluated the importance of pre- and post-pollination RI barriers in three sympatric species of Achimenes (Gesneriaceae), including ecogeographic, phenological...

Most of the world's land surface is currently under human use and natural habitats remain as fragmented samples of the original landscapes. Measuring the quality of plant progeny sired in these pervasive environments represents a fundamental endeavour for predicting the evolutionary potential of plant populations remaining in fragmented habitats an...

It has been proposed that species‐rich insect communities and species turnover across landscapes enhance the pollination efficiency of crops through complementarity, where both the dominant and less abundant species contribute to reaching a yield threshold from pollination. Alternatively, fluctuations in the most abundant pollinator species, rather...

Fragmentation of natural habitats generally has negative effects on the reproductive success of many plant species; however, little is known about epiphytic plants. We assessed the impact of forest fragmentation on plant–pollinator interactions and female reproductive success in two epiphytic Tillandsia species with contrasting life history strateg...

Most hummingbird species are distributed in tropical lowlands and mountains with few species reaching the alpine environments of high mountain peaks. Field surveys were conducted in nine alpine sites across four of the highest volcanoes in central Mexico for three years to document hummingbird occurrence, habitat use, and some aspects of behavior....

Nectar robbery is common in flowering plants with tubular corollas and can affect plant reproductive success. Our study characterized the interaction between potential pollinators and nectar robbers, and assessed the effects on flower abortion in a population of the restricted endemic Collaea cipoensis (Fabaceae) at Serra do Cipó, Brazil. We conduc...

This study tested the hypothesis that self‐compatibility would be associated with floral traits that facilitate autonomous self‐pollination to ensure reproduction under low pollinator visitation. In a comparison of two pairs of Ipomoea species with contrasting breeding systems, we predicted that self‐compatible ( SC ) species would have smaller, le...

En México, el bosque tropical caducifolio es propenso al impacto de huracanes por estar cerca de las costas. Sin embargo, hay pocos estudios que evalúen el efecto de los huracanes sobre las poblaciones de plantas en este tipo de ecosistemas. En este trabajo se evaluó el daño a una población de Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum (Engelm.) Britton & Rose...

Many mistletoe species produce "bird"-pollinated flowers; however, the reproductive biology of the majority of these species has not been studied. Psittacanthus auriculatus is a Mexican endemic mistletoe plant, most common in open-dry mesquite-grassland. Knowledge of the reproductive biology of P. auriculatus is essential for understanding species...

Premise of research. Pollination syndromes are suites of correlated characters that reflect selection by most frequent and effective pollinators. However, the floral phenotypes of some angiosperm species combine traits from different pollination syndromes. The aim of this study was to assess the correspondence between floral traits and floral visit...

In a recent literature review, we demonstrated that the evolution of floral traits is driven by adaptation to the most effective pollinators. In a critique of this study, Ollerton et al. 2015 claimed there were apparent flaws with data collection, analyses and interpretation of results. We disagree since many of OLT´s observations and recommendatio...

Convergent evolution of floral traits driven by pollinators has resulted in floral syndromes shared among different plant lineages. However, the flowers of many plant species are often visited by different pollinator groups, which apparently contradict the idea of syndromes. Here, we demonstrate that the most efficient pollinators consistently corr...

The evolution of self‐pollination has long been considered an adaptive strategy to cope with low or variable pollinator service; however, alternative reproductive strategies, such as generalized pollination (>1 pollinator functional group), may also ensure plant reproductive success in environments with inadequate pollinator visitation. Island–main...

Flowers have evolved suites of traits that are associated with the attraction, reward and utilization of particular pollinator types. Specialization on particular pollinator functional group results in a particular combination of floral traits with consequences on plant fitness through efficient pollen delivery and pollen receipt at the population...

The idea of pollination syndromes has been largely discussed but no formal quantitative evaluation has yet been conducted across angiosperms. We present the first systematic review of pollination syndromes that quantitatively tests whether the most effective pollinators for a species can be inferred from suites of floral traits for 417 plant specie...

Distyly is a floral polymorphism that presumably evolved to facilitate cross-pollination and to prevent sexual interference. However, pollen transfer is often asymmetric, with one floral morph acting as a pollen donor and the other as a pollen recipient. We evaluated the association between floral morphology, pollinator visitation and effectiveness...

Although under threat from natural and human disturbance, tropical dry forests are the most endangered ecosystem in the tropics, yet they rarely receive the scientific or conservation attention they deserve. In a comprehensive overview, Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation, and Management examines new approaches for data samp...

Density dependent processes are known to influence reproduction and establishment of plant populations. In this study, we evaluated the effects of local density and sexual expression on the reproductive success of the rare palm species Geonoma epetiolata in Costa Rica. We classified individuals in two density categories based on distances to the tw...

Variation in interspecific interactions across geographic space is a potential driver of diversification and local adaptation. This study quantitatively examined variation in floral phenotypes and pollinator service of Heliconia bihai and H. caribaea across three Antillean islands. The prediction was that floral characters would correspond to the m...

• Ecological generalization is postulated to be the rule in plant-pollinator interactions; however, the evolution of generalized flowers from specialized ancestors has rarely been demonstrated. This study examines the evolution of pollination and breeding systems in the tribe Gesnerieae (Gesneriaceae), an Antillean plant radiation that includes spe...

Pollen limitation of female fecundity is widespread among angiosperms, a signal that pollinators frequently fail to transfer pollen to fertilize all ovules. Recent surveys have suggested that pollen limitation is associated with floral specialization. This study uses a group of Antillean Gesneriaceae with contrasting pollination systems (bat, hummi...

Species with mixed mating systems often demonstrate variable expression of breeding system characteristics and thus represent the opportunity to understand the factors and mechanisms that promote both outcrossed and selfed seed production. Here, we investigate variation in levels of herkogamy (variation in stigma-anther separation distance) in a Pu...

Current views about the predominance of generalization of pollination systems have stimulated controversy concerning the validity of pollination syndromes. In order to assess the extent to which floral characters reflect selection by the most important pollinators we evaluated pollination syndromes in a florally diverse plant group, the tribe Gesne...

The genus Gesneria diversified in the Greater Antilles giving rise to various floral designs corresponding to different pollination syndromes. The goal of this study was to characterize the pollination and breeding systems of five Puerto Rican Gesneria species. The study was conducted in Arecibo and El Yunke National Forest, Puerto Rico, between 20...

Flowers with highly specialized pollination systems sometimes have the ability to self-pollinate, contradicting our notion that pollination specialization reflects selective pressures to ensure high maternal outcrossing rates. We survey the literature (80 species representing 38 families) for the simultaneous study of pollination and breeding syste...

Geonoma epetiolata is the only neotropical palm that exhibits substantial leaf mottling. This article provides a summary of its biology and conservation, some observations of natural populations and a discussion of the ecological role of leaf mottling. PALMS 51: 139-146 (2007).

We studied the phenology and reproductive biology of the stained glass palm Geonoma epetiolata in a premontane rain forest of Costa Rica. This understory species is endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. We followed 102 plants for two years and found that G. epetiolata is monoecious and protandrous. Flowering duration at the inflorescence level is three...