Macroevolution of the plant-hummingbird pollination system

Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2024 May 5. doi: 10.1111/brv.13094. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPlant-hummingbird interactions are considered a classic example of coevolution, a process in which mutually dependent species influence each other's evolution. Plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination, whereas hummingbirds rely on nectar for food. As a step towards understanding coevolution, this review focuses on the macroevolutionary consequences of plant-hummingbird interactions, a relatively underexplored area in the current literature. We synthesize prior studies, illustrating the origins and dynamics of hummingbird pollination across different angiosperm clades previously pollinated by insects (mostly bees), bats, and passerine birds. In some cases, the crown age of hummingbirds pre-dates the plants they pollinate. In other cases, plant groups transitioned to hummingbird pollination early in the establishment of this bird group in the Americas, with the build-up of both diversities coinciding temporally, and hence suggesting co-diversification. Determining what triggers shifts to and away from hummingbird pollination remains a major open challenge. The impact of hummingbirds on plant diversification is complex, with many tropical plant lineages experiencing increased diversification after acquiring flowers that attract hummingbirds, and others experiencing no change or even a decrease in diversification rates. This mixed evidence suggests that other extrinsic or intrinsic fa...

Source: Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society - May 5, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Elisa Barreto Mannfred M A Boehm Ezgi Ogutcen Stefan Abrahamczyk Michael Kessler Jordi Bascompte Agnes S Dellinger Carolina Bello D Matthias Dehling Fran çois Duchenne Miriam Kaehler Laura P Lagomarsino L úcia G Lohmann Mar ía A Maglianesi H élène Mo Source Type: research