Pollen limitation causes an Allee effect in a wind-pollinated invasive grass (Spartina alterniflora).

It is usually assumed that pollen availability does not limit reproduction in wind-pollinated plants. Little evidence either supporting or contradicting this assumption exists, despite the importance of seed production to population persistence and growth. We investigated the role of pollen limitation in an invasive estuarine grass (Spartina alterniflora), with a manipulative pollen supplementation and exclusion experiment in areas of high population density and at the low-density leading edge of the invasion.