Symposium
Pollination and Plant Reproduction in the Anthropocene: threats to the tropics
Organizer: Mauricio Quesada
Most of our planet's surface is currently under human influence. Remnants of natural habitats remain in forest fragments embedded in landscapes different from the original ones. Factors such as land use change, climate change, biotic invasions, nitrogen deposition in the soil and pollution are among the main drivers of change causing the loss of global biodiversity and the alteration of ecosystem processes. Plants constitute the basis of ecosystems worldwide but are under threat from anthropogenic activities that are transforming the planet. The conservation, maintenance and restoration of ecosystems directly depend on plant reproduction. In addition, the planet's food security depends largely on the production of fruits and seeds. Therefore, we need to understand how changes in global processes affect plant reproduction. Specifically, we need to understand the effects of these factors on pollination, flowering phenology, sexual expression, mating systems, pollen-pollen interactions, pollen-pistil interactions, pre- and post-fertilization, reproductive success, fruit and seed dispersal, and plant fitness. We need to understand how changes in plant diversity and interactions between plants and other species are affecting agriculture and food security, and how plants are adjusting or adapting to rapid environmental changes brought about by human actions. If we are to imagine the future of flowering plants in the Anthropocene, we need to synthesize and forecast the effects of global environmental change on the various elements of reproduction in angiosperms. The goal of this symposium is to present the results of cutting-edge research on pollination and plant reproduction in the context of global change in the Anthropocene era.
