Stability and Fluctuations in a Three Species System: A Plant With Two Very Different Pollinators

Abstract

Momo -Ure: Stability and fluctuations in a three species system: a plant with two very different pollinators - Abstract. We present a multi-species model of one plant with two nectivore pollinators. This system has mutualism between the plant and the pollinators, and competition for food between pollinators. Both pollinators are different: the large pollinator can consume all the nectar offered by the plant in each visit; it permits the genetic interchange between plants from different patches, so, it avoids self-fertilization problems. The small pollinator consumes only a fraction of the flower nectar but the seeds produced by its pollination are less successful. The model gives different dynamics depending on both the differences between the pollinators' growth rates and the inbreeding effect. Stronger oscillations occur when the growth rates are very different. Paradoxically, a high inbreeding causes an increment in populations. The three species system is biologically stable and the asymmetry between pollinator species results in different roles that enhance the global stability and persistence of the system.