In fire-prone West, plants need their pollinators — and vice versa

A new study grounded in the northern Rockies explores the role of wildfire in the finely tuned dance between plants and their pollinators. Previous studies have looked at how fire affects plants, or how fire affects animals. But what is largely understudied is the question of how fire affects both, and about how linkages within those ecological networks might respond to fire disturbance. The findings are particularly significant in light of recent reports about the rapid and widespread decline of insects globally.