Dataset Information

Phenology drives species interactions and modularity in a plant - flower visitor network.

ABSTRACT: Phenology is often identified as one of the main structural driving forces of plant - flower visitor networks. Nevertheless, we do not yet have a full understanding of the effects of phenology in basic network build up mechanisms such as ecological modularity. In this study, we aimed to identify the effect of within-season temporal variation of plant and flower visitor activity on the network structural conformation. Thus, we analysed the temporal dynamics of a plant - flower visitor network in two Mediterranean alpine communities during one complete flowering season. In our approach, we built quantitative interaction networks and studied the dynamics through temporal beta diversity of species, interaction changes and modularity analysis. Within-season dissimilarity in the identity of interactions was mainly caused by species replacement through time (species turnover). Temporal replacement of species and interactions clearly impacted modularity, to the extent that species phenology emerged as a strong determinant of modularity in our networks. From an applied perspective, our results highlight the importance of considering the temporal variation of species interactions throughout the flowering season and the requirement of making comprehensive temporal sampling when aiming to build functionally consistent interaction networks.

SUBMITTER: Morente-Lopez J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6010405 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phenology drives species interactions and modularity in a plant - flower visitor network.

Morente-López Javier J Lara-Romero Carlos C Ornosa Concepcion C Iriondo José M JM

Scientific reports 20180620 1

Phenology is often identified as one of the main structural driving forces of plant - flower visitor networks. Nevertheless, we do not yet have a full understanding of the effects of phenology in basic network build up mechanisms such as ecological modularity. In this study, we aimed to identify the effect of within-season temporal variation of plant and flower visitor activity on the network structural conformation. Thus, we analysed the temporal dynamics of a plant - flower visitor network in ...[more]

PMID: 29925965

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Project description:Biological constraints and neutral processes have been proposed to explain the properties of plant-pollinator networks. Using interactions between nectarivorous birds (hummingbirds and flowerpiercers) and flowering plants in high elevation forests (i.e., "elfin" forests) of the Andes, we explore the importance of biological constraints and neutral processes (random interactions) to explain the observed species interactions and network metrics, such as connectance, specialization, nestedness and asymmetry. In cold environments of elfin forests, which are located at the top of the tropical montane forest zone, many plants are adapted for pollination by birds, making this an ideal system to study plant-pollinator networks. To build the network of interactions between birds and plants, we used direct field observations. We measured abundance of birds using mist-nets and flower abundance using transects, and phenology by scoring presence of birds and flowers over time. We compared the length of birds' bills to flower length to identify "forbidden interactions"-those interactions that could not result in legitimate floral visits based on mis-match in morphology. Diglossa flowerpiercers, which are characterized as "illegitimate" flower visitors, were relatively abundant. We found that the elfin forest network was nested with phenology being the factor that best explained interaction frequencies and nestedness, providing support for biological constraints hypothesis. We did not find morphological constraints to be important in explaining observed interaction frequencies and network metrics. Other network metrics (connectance, evenness and asymmetry), however, were better predicted by abundance (neutral process) models. Flowerpiercers, which cut holes and access flowers at their base and, consequently, facilitate nectar access for other hummingbirds, explain why morphological mis-matches were relatively unimportant in this system. Future work should focus on how changes in abundance and phenology, likely results of climate change and habitat fragmentation, and the role of nectar robbers impact ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant-pollinator (or flower-visitor) interactions.

Project description:The interactions between pairs of native and alien plants via shared use of pollinators have been widely studied. Community level studies however, are necessary in order to fully understand the factors and mechanisms that facilitate successful plant invasion, but these are still scarce. Specifically, few community level studies have considered how differences in invasion level (alien flower abundance), and degree of floral trait similarity between native and invasive species, mediate effects on native plant-pollinator communities. Here, we evaluated the role of alien species on overall plant-floral visitor network structure, and on species-level network parameters, across nine invaded coastal communities distributed along 205 km in Yucatán, México that vary in alien species richness and flower abundance. We further assessed the potential the role of alien plant species on plant-floral visitor network structure and robustness via computational simulation of native and invasive plant extinction scenarios. We did not find significant differences between native and alien species in their functional floral phenotypes or in their visitation rate and pollinator community composition in these invaded sites. Variation in the proportion of alien plant species and flower abundance across sites did not influence plant-pollinator network structure. Species-level network parameters (i.e., normalized degree and nestedness contribution) did not differ between native and alien species. Furthermore, our simulation analyses revealed that alien species are functionally equivalent to native species and contribute equally to network structure and robustness. Overall, our results suggest that high levels of floral trait similarity and pollinator use overlap may help facilitate the integration of alien species into native plant-pollinator networks. As a result, alien species may also play a similar role than that of natives in the structure and stability of native plant and pollinator communities in the studied coastal sand dune ecosystem.

Dataset Information

Phenology drives species interactions and modularity in a plant - flower visitor network.

Publications

Phenology drives species interactions and modularity in a plant - flower visitor network.

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