Pollination biology is a discipline rooted in botany because it represents a critical stage in plant reproduction. Yet the importance of animal vectors for the movement of pollen means that pollination biologists need to engage with diverse fields such as animal behavior and cognition, as well as aspects of plant physiology, genetics, and population dynamics, to name a few. Pollination also has to be considered over an evolutionary timescale, but the extent of recent anthropogenic change in global ecosystems means that the field has pressing implications for the conservation of species and sustainability of food production. Pollination biology is thus a field that relies on forging cross-disciplinary links, while also requiring the application of established research techniques in botany.
