Poli-Stability: comprehensive assessment of stability in pollination communities

Project Information

PoliS

Grant agreement ID: 101064340

DOI

10.3030/101064340

Project closed

EC signature date 29 May 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 30 September 2024

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 165 312,96

Coordinated by

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PoliS (Poli-Stability: comprehensive assessment of stability in pollination communities)

Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Context and Motivation:
Species and ecological interactions are disappearing at alarming rates with unknown effects on key ecosystem functions basic for human well being, as pollination. Project PoliS (comprehensive assessment of stability in pollination communities) aims to combine the forces of an expert in the study of stability in complex networks and a world leader on pollination services to address one of the most relevant problems in ecology nowadays: how plant-pollinator communities respond to environmental changes.
By bridging the classical divide between the empirical and theoretical frameworks to study ecological stability, and using as case study detailed data on 12 communities in the Doñana natural reserve (southern Spain) across a gradient of landscape fragmentation monitored over seven years, this project put forwards solutions to comprehensively quantify the response of pollination communities to environmental perturbations, and elucidates the mechanisms by which pollination communities withstand global change pressures and achieve different axes of stability.
The novelty and high transferability of the methodology, in addition to the relevance of the question, make of this project an unique opportunity to advance in the prediction of how pollination communities will respond to a changing world.

Overall objectives:
The main objectives of the project are:
1) provide tools to assess temporal stability in plant-pollinator communities and test them using
long-term empirical data,
2) advance in elucidating how landscape fragmentation combines with climate change to impact
the structure and dynamics of these communities,
3) determine the extent to which interaction structure remains constant over time and their
consequences for community stability,
4) identify species most vulnerable to environmental perturbations and link this to their biological
traits and network roles.
I
mpacts:
The Poli-Stability (PoliS) project has made significant scientific contributions by integrating theoretical ecological models with long-term empirical data, advancing the understanding of ecological stability in plant-pollinator networks. Additionally, PoliS revealed how landscape intensification indirectly affects pollinator persistence by altering network structures, such as nestedness and modularity, highlighting the importance of cohesive interaction networks for stabilizing pollination systems. The project developed novel methodologies to quantify interaction flexibility and network dynamics, providing actionable tools for predicting and enhancing ecosystem persistence in the face of environmental change. These findings bridge critical gaps between theory and practice, offering robust frameworks to assess how ecological interactions underpin community stability. The scientific advancements of PoliS are expected to inform further research and modeling efforts, driving innovation in ecological stability studies and contributing to global strategies for biodiversity preservation and ecosystem management
The project has gone beyond the academic world and has made meaningful societal contributions by raising awareness of the critical role pollination plays in sustaining biodiversity and supporting food security. Through targeted outreach events, educational initiatives, and public engagement, the project has fostered a deeper understanding of the ecological and economic importance of pollinators. By emphasizing the need to protect both species and their interactions, PoliS has the potential to inform biodiversity conservation strategies and promote sustainable agricultural practices, ensuring the resilience of vital ecosystem services. These efforts align with global and EU-level biodiversity goals, supporting societal well-being by addressing pollinator declines, which directly impact agriculture, food production, and ecosystem health. The project's emphasis on inclusive and accessible science communication ensures its findings reach diverse audiences, maximizing its societal impact and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship.

Strategic and Policy Implications:
The project aligns with the European Green Deal, supporting biodiversity goals and climate adaptation strategies. It also contributes to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by enhancing ecological resilience and sustainability.
PoliS exemplifies the integration of social sciences and humanities through its focus on inclusive science communication, fostering gender equality, and addressing ecological issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. The project's outcomes are expected to inform conservation policies and practical applications across ecological and agricultural systems.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The Poli-Stability (PoliS) project has undertaken a range of technical and scientific activities to advance our understanding of plant-pollinator network stability under environmental change. Data collection efforts included recovering long-term empirical data from 12 plant-pollinator communities in the Doñana area of influence, compiling interaction matrices spanning seven years to capture variations in landscape fragmentation and environmental conditions. Stability assessment tools were developed to measure temporal stability and species persistence metrics, bridging empirical and theoretical approaches to establish mechanistic links between network structure and species’ survival. A structuralist theoretical framework was created and validated using real-world data, ensuring its robustness for predicting species persistence.
The project also analyzed the effects of landscape fragmentation, demonstrating that its impact on pollinator persistence is mediated indirectly through changes in network structures like nestedness and modularity. Studies on dynamic interactions revealed that year-to-year reorganization of pollination networks significantly boosts community resilience, with null models isolating the effects of species turnover and interaction rewiring. Additionally, rare and peripheral species were identified as the most vulnerable to environmental changes, with ongoing work linking their traits to network roles.
Key achievements of this project include the development of innovative methodologies for assessing ecological stability, validated theoretical models that connect network structure to persistence, and actionable insights into the drivers of pollinator resilience. Interaction flexibility emerged as a critical factor in enhancing ecosystem adaptability, while landscape fragmentation was shown to indirectly affect stability by altering network structures. Persistent species were found to occupy core positions, supporting system-wide resilience. The project’s outputs, including validated stability models and insights into biodiversity conservation, provide essential tools for sustainable ecosystem management and policy development, providing a solid foundation for further exploration of pollination networks and ecological stability.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has delivered robust scientific results, including the validation of structural stability metrics as predictors of pollinator persistence, offering a theoretical framework applicable to diverse ecological systems. It identified how landscape fragmentation indirectly impacts pollinator communities by altering key network structures, such as nestedness and modularity, and demonstrated that dynamic reorganization of pollination networks enhances community resilience compared to randomized scenarios. Vulnerable species, often rare or peripheral, were identified, with ongoing efforts to link these traits to their roles within networks. The project developed innovative tools for assessing temporal changes and predicting species persistence, alongside null models to dissect the impacts of network dynamics, making its insights actionable for conservation. Open-access resources have been made available for researchers, policymakers, and educators to apply these findings.
The potential impacts of the project are multifaceted. Scientifically, it advances understanding of biodiversity mechanisms under environmental change and offers predictive tools for assessing ecological stability across systems. Environmentally, it provides a base to inform strategies to mitigate biodiversity loss by protecting not just species but their interactions, essential for maintaining pollination services critical to food security. Strategically, it aligns with the European Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy 2030, informing policies that address climate change and habitat fragmentation. Broader societal benefits include enhanced public awareness of pollinator importance, support for sustainable agricultural practices, and contributions to achieving SDGs such as Life on Land (SDG 15) and Climate Action (SDG 13).
To ensure the broader uptake and success of the Poli-Stability (PoliS) project, key needs include further research to generalize findings by extending analyses to other ecosystems and completing work linking species traits to network roles and vulnerabilities. Investigating the long-term impacts of extreme climate events on pollination networks is also crucial. Real-world testing of conservation strategies derived from the project’s findings will validate their applicability, while expanding outreach efforts to engage stakeholders in agriculture, conservation, and urban planning will amplify their impact. Sustained access to resources and funding is necessary for long-term ecological monitoring and interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate ecological, social, and economic dimensions. Policy integration at national and EU levels is vital, including embedding findings into biodiversity policies, habitat restoration plans, and regulatory frameworks prioritizing ecosystem service stability. Scaling tools and methodologies for global application, particularly in biodiversity hotspots, and fostering international collaborations will ensure the project's relevance on a global scale.

Image containing all the main results of the project