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48 results for “Mutualistic Network”
Data from: Resilient networks of ant-plant mutualists in Amazonian forest fragments
BACKGROUND: The organization of networks of interacting species, such as plants and animals engaged in mutualisms, strongly influences the ecology and evolution of partner communities. Habitat fragmentation is a globally pervasive form of spatial heterogeneity that could profoundly impact the structure of mutualist networks. This is particularly true for biodiversity-rich tropical ecosystems, where the majority of plant species depend on mutualisms with animals and it is thought that changes in the structure of mutualist networks could lead to cascades of extinctions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We evaluated effects of fragmentation on mutualistic networks by calculating metrics of network structure for ant-plant networks in continuous Amazonian forests with those in forest fragments. We hypothesized that networks in fragments would have fewer species and higher connectance, but equal nestedness and resilience compared to forest networks. Only one of the nine metrics we compared differed between continuous forest and forest fragments, indicating that networks were resistant to the biotic and abiotic changes that accompany fragmentation. This is partially the result of the loss of only specialist species with one connection that were lost in forest fragments. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We found that the networks of ant-plant mutualists in twenty-five year old fragments are similar to those in continuous forest, suggesting these interactions are resistant to the detrimental changes associated with habitat fragmentation, at least in landscapes that are a mosaic of fragments, regenerating forests, and pastures. However, ant-plant mutualistic networks may have several properties that may promote their persistence in fragmented landscapes. Proactive identification of key mutualist partners may be necessary to focus conservation efforts on the interactions that insure the integrity of network structure and the ecosystems services networks provide.
Data from: Geographical variation in mutualistic networks: similarity, turnover and partner fidelity
Although species and their interactions in unison represent biodiversity and all the ecological and evolutionary processes associated with life, biotic interactions have, contrary to species, rarely been integrated into the concepts of spatial β-diversity. Here, we examine β-diversity of ecological networks by using pollination networks sampled across the Canary Islands. We show that adjacent and distant communities are more and less similar, respectively, in their composition of plants, pollinators and interactions than expected from random distributions. We further show that replacement of species is the major driver of interaction turnover and that this contribution increases with distance. Finally, we quantify that species-specific partner compositions (here called partner fidelity) deviate from random partner use, but vary as a result of ecological and geographical variables. In particular, breakdown of partner fidelity was facilitated by increasing geographical distance, changing abundances and changing linkage levels, but was not related to the geographical distribution of the species. This highlights the importance of space when comparing communities of interacting species and may stimulate a rethinking of the spatial interpretation of interaction networks. Moreover, geographical interaction dynamics and its causes are important in our efforts to anticipate effects of large-scale changes, such as anthropogenic disturbances.
Data from: Integrating plant species contribution to mycorrhizal and seed dispersal mutualistic networks
Mutualistic interactions like those established between plants and mycorrhizal fungi or seed dispersers are key drivers of plant population dynamics and ecosystem functioning, however, these interactions have rarely been explored together. We assembled a tripartite fungi-plant-disperser network in the Gorongosa National Park - Mozambique, to test 1) if the diversity and importance of plant mutualists above- and belowground are correlated, and 2) whether biotically and abiotically dispersed plants are associated with similar or distinct arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities. We quantified seed dispersal by animals during one year and characterized the community of 26 common plant species. Sixteen plant species were dispersed by 15 animals and colonized by 48 AMF virtual taxa (VT), while the remaining ten plant species were not dispersed by animals and associated with 34 AMF VT. We found no evidence for a correlation between the number of plant partners above- and belowground or on plant specialization on both types of partners. We also found no evidence for differentiation of AMF communities between biotically and abiotically dispersed plants. Altogether, these results suggest that the establishment of plant interactions with seed dispersers and mycorrhizal fungi are largely independent and that both biotically and abiotically dispersed plants seem to associate with similar communities of AM fungi.
Alien plants and flower visitors disrupt the seasonal dynamics of mutualistic networks - Dataset
<p>Dataset associated with the manuscript "Alien plants and flower visitors disrupt the seasonal dynamics of mutualistic networks" (Arroyo-Correa et al. 2019)</p>
Data from: Cooperation and coexpression: how coexpression networks shift in response to multiple mutualists
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Data from: Functional outcomes of mutualistic network interactions: a community-scale study of frugivore gut passage on germination
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Data from: Geographical variation in mutualistic networks: similarity, turnover and partner fidelity
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Data from: Integrating plant species contribution to mycorrhizal and seed dispersal mutualistic networks
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Data from: From structure to function in mutualistic interaction networks: topologically important frugivores have greater potential as seed dispersers
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Data from: Resilient networks of ant-plant mutualists in Amazonian forest fragments
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Hybrid networks reveal contrasting effects of agricultural intensification on antagonistic and mutualistic motifs
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Data from: Beyond neutral and forbidden links: morphological matches and the assembly of mutualistic hawkmoth-plant networks
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Data from: Mutualistic strategies minimize coextinction in plant-disperser networks
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Data from: Geographical variation in the heterogeneity of mutualistic networks
Plant–animal mutualistic networks are characterized by highly heterogeneous degree distributions. The majority of species interact with few partner species, while a small number are highly connected to form network hubs that are proposed to play an important role in community stability. It has not been investigated, however, if or how the degree distributions vary among types of mutualisms or communities, or between plants and animals in the same network. Here, we evaluate the degree distributions of pollination and seed-dispersal networks, which are two major types of mutualistic networks that have often been discussed in parallel, using an index based on Pielou's evenness. Among 56 pollination networks we found strong negative correlation of the heterogeneity between plants and animals, and geographical shifts of network hubs from plants in temperate regions to animals in the tropics. For 28 seed-dispersal networks, by contrast, the correlation was positive, and there is no comparable geographical pattern. These results may be explained by evolution towards specialization in the presence of context-dependent costs that occur if plants share the animal species as interaction partner. How the identity of network hubs affects the stability and resilience of the community is an important question for future studies.
Data from: Implications of non-native species for mutualistic network resistance and resilience
Resilience theory aims to understand and predict ecosystem state changes resulting from disturbances. Non-native species are ubiquitous in ecological communities and integrated into many described ecological interaction networks, including mutualisms. By altering the fitness landscape and rewiring species interactions, such network invasion may carry important implications for ecosystem resistance and resilience under continued environmental change. Here, I hypothesize that the tendency of established non-native species to be generalists may make them more likely than natives to occupy central network roles and may link them to the resistance and resilience of the overall network. I use a quantitative research synthesis of 58 empirical pollination and seed dispersal networks, along with extinction simulations, to examine the roles of known non-natives in networks. I show that non-native species in networks enhance network redundancy and may thereby bolster the ecological resistance or functional persistence of ecosystems in the face of disturbance. At the same time, non-natives are unlikely to partner with specialist natives, thus failing to support the resilience of native species assemblages. Non-natives significantly exceed natives in network centrality, normalized degree, and Pollination Service Index. Networks containing non-natives exhibit lower connectance, more links on average, and higher generality and vulnerability than networks lacking non-natives. As environmental change progresses, specialists are particularly likely to be impacted, reducing species diversity in many communities and network types. This work implies that functional diversity may be retained but taxonomic diversity decline as non-native species become established in networks worldwide.
Data from: Phylogenetic tree shape and the structure of mutualistic networks
Species community composition is known to alter the network of interactions between two trophic levels, potentially affecting its functioning (e.g. plant pollination success) and the stability of communities. Phylogenies vary in shape with regard to the rate of evolutionary change across a tree (influencing tree balance) and variation in the timing of branching events (affecting the distribution of node ages in trees), both of which may influence the structure of species interaction networks. Because related species are likely to share many of the traits that regulate interactions, the shape of phylogenetic trees may provide some insights into the distribution of traits within communities, and hence the likelihood of interaction among species. However, little attention has been paid to the potential effects of changes in phylogenetic diversity (PD) on interaction networks. Phylogenetic diversity is influenced by species diversity within a community, but also how distantly-related the constituent species are from one another. Here, we evaluate the relationship between two important measures of phylogenetic diversity (tree shape and age of nodes) and the structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks using empirical and simulated data. Whereas the former allows us to evaluate patterns in real communities, the latter allows us to evaluate more systematically the relationship between tree shape and network structure under three different models of trait evolution. In empirical networks, less balanced plant phylogenies were associated with lower connectance in interaction networks indicating that communities with the descendants of recent radiations are more diverged and specialized in their partnerships. In simulations, tree balance and the distribution of nodes through time were included in the best models for modularity, and the second best models for connectance and nestedness. In models assuming random evolutionary change through time (i.e., Brownian motion), less balanced trees and trees with nodes near the tips exhibited greater modularity, whereas in models with an early burst of radiation followed by relative stasis (i.e. early-burst models) more balanced trees and trees with nodes near roots had greater modularity. Synthesis: Overall, these results suggest that the shape of phylogenies can influence the structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks. However, the mismatch between simulations and empirical data indicate that no simple model of trait evolution mimics that observed in real communities.
Data from: Coevolution and the architecture of mutualistic networks
Although coevolution is widely recognized as an important evolutionary process for pairs of reciprocally specialized species, its importance within species-rich communities of generalized species has been questioned. Here we develop and analyze mathematical models of mutualistic communities, such as those between plants and pollinators or plants and seed-dispersers to evaluate the importance of coevolutionary selection within complex communities. Our analyses reveal that coevolutionary selection can drive significant changes in trait distributions with important consequences for the network structure of mutualistic communities. One such consequence is greater connectance caused by an almost invariable increase in the rate of mutualistic interaction within the community. Another important consequence is altered patterns of nestedness. Specifically, interactions mediated by a mechanism of phenotype matching tend to be anti-nested when coevolutionary selection is weak and even more strongly anti-nested as increasing coevolutionary selection favors the emergence of reciprocal specialization. In contrast, interactions mediated by a mechanism of phenotype differences tend to be nested when coevolutionary selection is weak, but less nested as increasing coevolutionary selection favors greater levels of generalization in both plants and animals. Taken together, our results show that coevolutionary selection can be an important force within mutualistic communities, driving changes in trait distributions, interaction rates, and even network structure.
Cheating interactions favor modularity in mutualistic networks
<p>A fundamental fact about mutualisms is that these mutually beneficial interactions often harbor cheaters that benefit from the use of resources and services without providing any positive feedback to the other players. The role of cheaters on the evolutionary dynamics of mutualisms has long been recognized, yet their broader consequences to the community level, and beyond species they interact with, is still poorly understood. Because mutualisms form networks that often involve dozens to hundreds of species, indirect effects generated by cheaters may cascade through the whole community, reshaping trait evolution. Here, we study how harboring cheating interactions can influence coevolution in mutualistic networks. We combine a coevolutionary model, empirical data on animal-plant mutualistic networks, and numerical simulations and show that a higher frequency of cheating interactions in a network can lead to the formation of groups of species phenotypically similar to each other and distinct from other groups, generating higher trait disparity. The resulting clustered trait patterns, in turn, change the patterns of interaction in simulated networks, fostering the formation of modules of interacting species. Our results indicate that cheaters contribute to generate phenotypic clusters in mutualistic networks, counteracting selection for convergence imposed by mutualists, and favoring the emergence of modules of interacting species. Based on these results, we suggest that cheaters might be a fundamental element for our understanding of the evolution of mutualistic networks.</p>
Data from: Using local ecological knowledge to build mutualistic networks in hyper-diverse and logistically challenging ecosystems
<p>1. Collecting interaction data to build frugivory or seed dispersal networks is logistically challenging in ecosystems that have very high plant and animal diversity and/or where fieldwork is difficult or dangerous. Consequently, the majority of available networks are from ecosystems with low species diversity or they represent a sub-set of the community. </p> <p>2. Here, we propose an approach using local ecological knowledge (LEK) of indigenous communities to build interaction databases and weighted networks that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with direct observations. Indigenous communities live and work in many hyper-diverse ecosystems and the people within these communities often have detailed knowledge of ecological processes. </p> <p>3. Working in a Sundaland biodiversity hotspot – Royal Belum State Park, Peninsular Malaysia – we used field data, visually-oriented interviews with indigenous people (Orang Asli, in the Jahai and Temiar ethnic subgroups), and published records to collate interactions, and their frequency of occurrence of animal fruit consumption and seed dispersal. </p> <p>4. We documented 2060 fruit consumption and 1330 seed dispersal interactions among 164 plant species and 34 animal taxa, the latter representing groups of closely related species or individual species. The majority of the interactions (97%) were identified by the LEK interviews, with the additional methods (field data and published records) used to support and marginally expand the interview data. The metrics for the networks we built reflect those of networks structured by biological mechanisms, supporting the validity of our novel method. </p> <p>5. Local ecological knowledge is highly relevant for building detailed databases for mutualistic interactions in hyper-diverse and/or challenging ecosystems. Such ecosystems are among the most vulnerable on earth, harbouring ecological interactions that are often poorly documented at a community-level. We show how LEK can broaden our knowledge of such sensitive ecosystems, but our approach is useful for any ecosystem where people retain rich local ecological knowledge.</p>
Data from: Components of phylogenetic signal in antagonistic and mutualistic networks
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