Evolutionary Inferences on the Community Organization of Flower-Hummingbird Interactions in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest

IAMARA NOGUEIRA, JOICE; GLEISER, GABRIELA; BURIN, GUSTAVO; AIZEN, M. A.; MCGUIRE, JIMMY; BUZATO, SILVANA

Congreso; Virtual Asilomar 2021 - American Society of Naturalists; 2021

American Society of Naturalists

In pollination systems, degree of dependence betweenplant-animal species determines community pattern and function. High dependencebetween partners is usually depicted by highlighting gradients in networkgraphs and the history of interaction could be detected by co-phylogeneticsign. Based on differences in morphology, behavior and distribution ofinteractions between hermit and nonhermit hummingbirds, we questioned whetherasymmetries in the interactions between the two guilds are perceived in theco-phylogenetic structure of communities. We expected that the early origin ofthe hermits and their faithful interaction with certain groups of plants couldgenerate frames of stronger interaction from the pollinator to the plant aswell as more evident historical mark in the community. We built a metawebcomposed of 327 native plant species, 31hummingbird species (26 non-hermits andfive hermits) and 1102 interactions for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Strongerco-phylogenetic signal involved Bromeliaceae flowers and hermits, whereasnonhermits and flowers presented the cophylogenetic signal practically absent.Therefore, this study reveals that cophylogenetic signals in the interactionnetworks can be distinct within the same taxon. For hummingbirds and flowersresident in the Atlantic Forest, signs of historical coevolution can berecorded only for interactions with hermits. For non-hermits, it is notpossible to record historical signs in contemporary ecological interactionswhich might be related to the lability of this guild exploring multiple kind offlowers.