From individuals to networks: The role of variation in plant–pollinator communities' responses to global change

Abstract

Plant–pollinator communities are critical for biodiversity, ecosystem function and human well-being. Yet our ability to predict divergent species responses to environmental change, the risk of abrupt collapse, or the potential for recovery in plant–pollinator systems remains limited. Here, we argue that individual variation within species may play a critical but underappreciated role in shaping the sensitivity, robustness and resilience of animal pollinators and plant–pollinator communities. We explore processes by which individual variation may influence responses to perturbation, highlighting parallels with existing niche theory at the species level (e.g. the biodiversity–ecosystem function literature). We suggest that individual variation—as a key but distinct component of total intraspecific variation—may generate more gradual (rather than abrupt) responses to environmental stress than predictions based on species means in many cases, but that these effects will depend on how traits underlying performance, interaction frequency, stress sensitivity and pollination efficacy covary among individuals. Finally, we highlight critical knowledge gaps and open questions in the structure and dynamics of plant–pollinator interactions at the individual scale and conclude by outlining a roadmap for integrating individual variation into studies of plant–pollinator communities under global change.