Published in:
Ecology and Evolution, 11 (2021) 12, Seite 7834-7849
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1002/ece3.7616
ISSN:
2045-7758
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Temperature and photoperiod are important Zeitgebers for plants and pollinators to synchronize growth and reproduction with suitable environmental conditions and their mutualistic interaction partners. Global warming can disturb this temporal synchronization since interacting species may respond differently to new combinations of photoperiod and temperature under future climates, but experimental studies on the potential phenological responses of plants and pollinators are lacking. We simulated current and future combinations of temperature and photoperiod to assess effects on the overwintering and spring phenology of an early flowering plant species (<jats:italic>Crocus sieberi</jats:italic>) and the Western honey bee (<jats:italic>Apis mellifera</jats:italic>). We could show that increased mean temperatures in winter and early spring advanced the flowering phenology of <jats:italic>C. sieberi</jats:italic> and intensified brood rearing activity of <jats:italic>A. mellifera</jats:italic> but did not advance their brood rearing activity. Flowering phenology of <jats:italic>C. sieberi</jats:italic> also relied on photoperiod, while brood rearing activity of <jats:italic>A. mellifera</jats:italic> did not. The results confirm that increases in temperature can induce changes in phenological responses and suggest that photoperiod can also play a critical role in these responses, with currently unknown consequences for real‐world ecosystems in a warming climate.</jats:p>