Plant-Pollinator Interactions in Bahamian Coastal Communities

Carol L. Landry; Nancy B. Elliott; Adam J. Finkle; Lee B. Kass

Plant-Pollinator Interactions in Bahamian Coastal Communities

Carol L. Landry^1,*, Nancy B. Elliott², Adam J. Finkle^2,3, and Lee B. Kass⁴

¹Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Mansfield, OH 44906, USA. ²Department of Biology, Siena College, Loudonville, NY 11211, USA. ³Current address - Sustainability Science Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. ⁴L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. *Corresponding author.

Caribbean Naturalist, No. 9 (2014)

Abstract
In light of increased pressure from direct anthropogenic effects and climate change, coastal conservation has become even more important. Here we report on animals observed visiting flowers on 30 plant species in 14 families during two time periods on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas. An understanding of community pollination dynamics is necessary for successful conservation efforts in coastal ecosystems because most plant species rely on animal pollinators for cross-pollination; thus, identification of potential pollinators for each plant species is a necessary first step. A total of 41 animal species representing four insect and two bird orders were observed visiting flowers. The relative importance of individual species to the community was estimated based on the number of interaction partners and whether the species was active during both time periods.

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