Link between pollinators and diverse landscapes is a two-way street

by Iowa State University
April 13, 2026

Ecologists have long seen a strong connection between biodiversity and pollinators – the butterflies, birds, bats, bees and other insects that help the flowers they snack on fertilize by transferring pollen from male anthers to female stigma.

Previous research has shown diverse landscapes draw more pollinators, as a wider variety of pollen and nectar attracts attention from a wider variety of animals – some which only feed on certain plants. Essentially, pollinators go where the food is, said Brian Wilsey, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University. 

A recent study by Wilsey and doctoral graduate Nathan Soley showed the converse is also true: Pollinators support diversity in plant communities. In an article published this month in Ecology, Wilsey and Soley described a four-year experiment they conducted in plots of restored prairie that examined how plant diversity was affected by purposely protecting wildflowers from pollinators. Among animal-pollinated plants, viable seed production fell by 50% and the diversity of species fell by 27%, they found. 

“Our study is the first we are aware of to show that plant biodiversity at the community level can be limited by a lack of pollinators,” Wilsey said. 

Keep reading: https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/link-between-pollinators-and-diverse-landscapes-two-way-street

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70369