新疆卡拉麦里自然保护区春季开花植物的传粉网络研究

Pollination is an important step in the process of angiosperm sexual reproduction, which is considered to play critical roles in ensuring the plants reproductive success, improving the offspring fitness, and maintaining the stability of community structure, ecosystem and biodiversity. The interactions between plants and pollinators represent complex pollination networks. Currently, little has been reported about plant–pollinator network in the desert plant communities. Kalamaili Nature Reserve, locating in northeast Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, is one of the most famous Ungulate Reserves in China. Spring flowering plants are not only the important vegetation types in Kalamaili Nature Reserve, but also the main food resource of wild animal and livestock during the spring. In this project, we will investigate the floral trait and pollination syndrome, and build the pollination network of spring flowering plants in Kalamaili Nature Reserve using field investigations, control experiment and sociological analysis. Our aims are 1) to analyze the degrees of overlap among spring flowering species, and matching degrees between florescence of spring flowering species and phenology of their pollinators; 2) to clarify the relationship between floral traits of spring flowering plants and pollination behavior of theirs pollinators; 3) to reveal the structural characteristics of pollination networks and mutualistic mechanisms between spring flowering species and their pollinators. The results from this project will have great theoretical and application values for completely exploring in maintaining mechanisms of species diversity in desert plants, and playing important functions in wild Ungulate conservation, also for the desert vegetation conservation and enriching the related pollination ecology theories.

传粉是被子植物有性生殖的关键阶段，在保障繁殖成功、提高后代适合度、维持群落结构与生态系统稳定性以及生物多样性等方面具有重要意义。植物与传粉者间的相互作用构成了复杂的传粉网络。目前，有关荒漠植物–传粉者的互作网络还少见报道。卡拉麦里自然保护区位于准噶尔盆地东北部，是我国著名的荒漠有蹄类动物保护区。春季开花植物是该区域的重要植物类群，也是野生保护动物和家畜春季赖以生存的饲草。本项目拟以卡拉麦里保护区春季开花植物为研究对象，采用野外观测与控制实验及社会学分析等方法，通过对花部综合征与传粉综合征以及传粉网络构建等研究，以期：明确物种间花期重叠程度及开花与传粉者物候的匹配性，阐明花部特征与传粉者访花行为之间的对应关系，揭示传粉网络特点及各物种与传粉者间的互利共生机制。研究成果对于全面揭示荒漠生物多样性维持机制及其在野生动物保护中的作用、荒漠植被保育并丰富传粉生态学相关理论具有重要理论与应用价值。

传粉是被子植物有性生殖的关键阶段，在保障繁殖成功、提高后代适合度、维持群落结构与生态系统稳定性以及生物多样性等方面具有重要意义。植物与传粉者间的相互作用构成了复杂的传粉网络。目前，有关荒漠植物–传粉者的互作网络还少见报道。卡拉麦里自然保护区位于准噶尔盆地东北部，是我国著名的荒漠有蹄类动物保护区。开花植物是该区域的重要植物类群，也是野生保护动物和家畜春季赖以生存的饲草。本项目以卡拉麦里保护区砾质荒漠为研究区域，以该区域内的开花植物为研究对象，采用野外观测与控制实验及网络分析等手段和方法，对该区域荒漠植物花部综合征与传粉综合征以及传粉网络构建等进行了研究。取得的重要结果有：(1) 该区域砾质荒漠植物绝大多数都花期集中于4月至7月，花期大约30天，最短为9天，最长为48天，这与该区域的传粉昆虫有效活动时间基本一致；(2) 绝大多数该区域砾质荒漠植物植物表现出虫媒花的特性，花大，花瓣颜色鲜艳，具花冠筒，且花粉粒粗糙具表面纹饰等特征，同时表现出与传粉昆虫体征的一定匹配性；(3) 2020年-2021年连续两年观测该区域砾质荒漠开花植物-传粉者互作网络，该传粉网络的连接具高度不对称性，网络结构表现为反嵌套性和模块化结构。此外，该传粉网络在此连续两年间也发生了明显的变化，主要包括物种数、网络连接数、连接对和嵌套度以及模块化程度等方面。该研究可从群落水平上探讨荒漠植物与传粉者之间的互利共生机制，为全面揭示荒漠生物多样性维持机制及其在野生动物保护中的作用、荒漠植被保育并丰富传粉生态学相关理论具有重要理论与应用价值。