Determinants of the microstructure of plant-pollinator networks

KAISER-BUNBURY CN; VÁZQUEZ DP; STANG M; GHAZOUL J

ECOLOGY

ECOLOGICAL SOC AMER

Año: 2014

0012-9658

Identifying the determinants of biological interactions in mutualistic networks is key to understanding the rules that govern the organization of biodiversity. We used structural equation modeling and dissimilarities between highly resolved plant?pollinator networks to investigate community processes underlying the identity and frequency of species interactions. . Floral and pollinator community composition were strong determinants of the distribution of interactions among species pairs in the networks, explaining almost 69% of their variation. Flower and pollinator traits were directly related to interaction patterns, but were partly masked in the model by shared variance with community composition. Temporal and geographic distance among networks, floral and pollinator abundances, and relative abundance of exotic flowers had indirect and relatively weak effects on interaction patterns. Our analyses lead to precise predictions about the processes behind the patterns in mutualistic networks. Future understanding of these processes will be aided by studies that evaluate these predictions experimentally at the network level.P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 100%; widows: 2; orphans: 2; }P.western { font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); }