Data from: Attractiveness of exotic invasive plants can disconnect native plants from their floral visitors
Data files
Jul 15, 2025 version files 250.15 KB
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Data_final.csv
248.05 KB
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README.md
2.10 KB
Abstract
Exotic invasive plant species (EIP) threaten ecosystem diversity and stability through competition for abiotic resources with native plant species. They can also compete for pollinators, as native floral visitors can incorporate EIP floral resources (i.e., pollen and nectar) in their diets, potentially shifting their foraging behaviour away from the native flora. To decipher how EIP attract native floral visitors and the potential competition between EIP and native plants for pollinators, we focused on five major exotic invasive plant species in Europe: Buddleja davidii, Impatiens glandulifera, Reynoutria japonica, Robinia pseudoacacia and Senecio inaequidens. We recorded in 16 sites in Belgium: (i) EIP floral visitors, (ii) EIP pollen carried by these visitors, and (iii) pollen from native plant species on these visitors. We showed that bees were the dominant visitors and pollen vectors for Impatiens glandulifera, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Buddleja davidii; hoverflies were the primary visitors for Senecio inaequidens; and non-hoverfly flies, alongside bees, were the most frequent visitors for Reynoutria japonica. Senecio inaequidens exhibited the highest species richness of floral visitors, species richness of pollen vectors, and shared interactions with native plant species. Impatiens glandulifera exhibited the highest pollen transfer efficiency, with nearly 90% of its floral visitors carrying its pollen. While floral visitors of the other four studied species also interacted with numerous native plants, those of I. glandulifera carried its pollen almost exclusively, potentially substituting native species. These findings highlight how widely introduced exotic invasive plant species can integrate native pollinator networks to the point of disconnecting local pollinators from their original resources.
Dear Reader,
Please find attached the dataset related to the paper entitled "Attractiveness of exotic invasive plants can disconnect native plants from their floral visitors", published in Oikos.
The file Data_final.csv, contains information on all sampled specimens, their taxonomic identification, the plant species from which they were collected (corresponding to exotic invasive species, hereafter EIS), as well as a description of the pollen types identified on their bodies.
Description of Variables:
- ID: Unique identification number for each specimen (text).
- Locality: Site name where the specimen was collected (text).
- Plant of collecting: Latin name of the exotic invasive species (EIS) from which the specimen was collected (text).
- Latitude / Longitude: Coordinates of the sampled patch in a site (WGS 84, decimal degrees).
- Date: Sampling date (format: YYYY.MM.DD).
- Species: Latin name of the (morpho-)species identified (text).
- Family: Taxonomic family of the specimen (text).
- Visitor_cat: Categorical group of floral visitors. Categories: Bumble bees; Solitary bees; Wasps; Ants; Hoverflies; Other flies; Butterflies/moths; Beetles; Others.
- Plt.pollen.1 to Plt.pollen.9.REST: (Morpho-)species of pollen grains identified on the specimen (text).
- Prop.1 to Prop.9.REST: Relative proportion of each pollen type found on the specimen (%). These values were not used in the analyses. Entries with a value of 0% correspond to grain counts below a threshold set to avoid contamination, and were therefore excluded.
Notes on Empty Cells:
Empty cells in the Plt.pollen.* and Prop.* columns indicate that no additional pollen (morpho-)species were found on the specimen beyond those already listed. These columns were filled incrementally and left empty when no further pollen was present.
No other columns in the dataset contain missing data. All empty cells carry a specific biological meaning, as described above.
If you have any further questions or require clarification, please feel free to contact the corresponding author. We will be happy to assist you.