Pollinator competition and the contingency of nectar depletion during an early spring resource pulse

Concerns about competition between pollinators are predicated on the assumption of floral resource limitation. Floral resource limitation, however, is a complex phenomenon involving the interplay of resource production by plants, resource demand by pollinators, and exogenous factors — like weather conditions — that constrain both plants and pollinators. In this study, we examine nectar limitation during the mass flowering of rosaceous fruit trees in early spring. Our study is set in the same region as a previous study that found extremely severe nectar limitation in summer grasslands. We use this seasonal contrast to evaluate two alternative hypotheses concerning the seasonal dynamics of floral resource limitation: either (H1) rates of resource production and consumption are matched through seasonal time to maintain a consistent degree of resource limitation or (H2) a mismatch of high floral resource production and low pollinator activity in early spring creates a period of relaxed reso..., Sampling began on March 20th, 2023, and continued for one month, concluding on April 21st. Sampling was conducted opportunistically within that interval on days without precipitation during sampling hours and with midday temperatures above 10C, resulting in a total of nine sampling days.  
On each day of sampling, five mesh bags, large enough to cover the distal end of a tree branch for length of about 20 cm, were installed on each tree selected to be sampled. Bagging was done before 8:00, while temperatures were cool enough to preclude pollinator activity. Bags were constructed of synthetic fabric similar to mosquito netting, which has a minimal influence on the microclimate of the flower. Sampling was conducted at intervals beginning at 9:00 and repeated every two hours until a 15:00 unless interrupted by rain, and on one day we did an additional round at 17:00. In each round, we sampled five bagged flowers and five open flowers from each tree. Since the bags we used covered multiple ..., , # Data from: Pollinator competition and the contingency of nectar depletion during an early spring resource pulse

Date: \"2024-05-23\"

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.573n5tbgg](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.573n5tbgg)

# Description of the data and file structure

All data files are provided in `.rds` format for convenient handling in `R` (and to avoid any tricks Excel might try to play with a regular spreadsheet file). To load an `.rds` files into your `R` environment as a data frame, use the `readRDS()` command. Data frames can easily be exported to `.csv` format using `write.csv()`. Each `.rds` data file is used in one or more of the accompanying RMarkdown files listed in the Code/Software section.

# Data files

## `hubland_nectar.rds`

Nectar sampling data

1. `datetime`: Date and time of sampling
2. `date`: Date of sampling
3. `time`: Time of sampling
4. `round`: Diel sampling round
5. `hour`: Approximate hour of sampling round
6. `sampler`: Person who did the sampling
7. `...