Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest
Animal and plant mutualistic interactions can be shaped by various simultaneous processes, including neutral-based processes that emphasize species relative abundance, as well as forbidden links that reflect phenotypic complementarity in terms of species phenology, geographic distribution, or morpho...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001246 |
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| author | Praeploy Nonsri Xuelian He Luxiang Lin |
| author_facet | Praeploy Nonsri Xuelian He Luxiang Lin |
| author_sort | Praeploy Nonsri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animal and plant mutualistic interactions can be shaped by various simultaneous processes, including neutral-based processes that emphasize species relative abundance, as well as forbidden links that reflect phenotypic complementarity in terms of species phenology, geographic distribution, or morphology. A thorough comprehension of various factors that shape the architecture of different mutualistic networks is essential for understanding ecological stability of natural communities. However, the variation in the relative importance of underlying processes across different types of mutualistic networks within the same research system remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the relative importance of species relative abundance, phenological overlap, and morphological constraint/matching in explaining the architecture of both nectarivorous bird-plant (pollination) and frugivorous bird-plant (seed dispersal) mutualistic networks within a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest. Furthermore, we assessed the relationship between fruit nutrients (water, lipid, protein, fiber, carbohydrate, and energy) and species degree, pairwise interaction frequency, interaction strength, and Z-score (species contribution to nestedness) in the seed dispersal networks. Among processes shaping the two mutualistic network structures, phenological overlap was most important in explaining the frequency of pairwise interactions in the pollination network, while a combination of morphological constraint and species relative abundance best explained the frequency of pairwise interactions in the seed dispersal network. Furthermore, morphological constraint among species within the pollination network predicted nestedness. In addition, the combination of species relative abundance, phenological overlap and morphological constraint could explain the nestedness of the seed dispersal network. Our results showed that the water and fiber content of fruits influences both the species degree and interaction strength within the seed dispersal network. Overall, our findings provide evidence regarding the difference of underlying processes that shape the structure of two types of mutualistic networks within a research system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c1e01e03417a4ffe884b25f6b214c0f4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-c1e01e03417a4ffe884b25f6b214c0f42025-08-20T02:47:40ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-06-0159e0352310.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03523Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forestPraeploy Nonsri0Xuelian He1Luxiang Lin2CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Corresponding authors.CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Corresponding authors.Animal and plant mutualistic interactions can be shaped by various simultaneous processes, including neutral-based processes that emphasize species relative abundance, as well as forbidden links that reflect phenotypic complementarity in terms of species phenology, geographic distribution, or morphology. A thorough comprehension of various factors that shape the architecture of different mutualistic networks is essential for understanding ecological stability of natural communities. However, the variation in the relative importance of underlying processes across different types of mutualistic networks within the same research system remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the relative importance of species relative abundance, phenological overlap, and morphological constraint/matching in explaining the architecture of both nectarivorous bird-plant (pollination) and frugivorous bird-plant (seed dispersal) mutualistic networks within a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest. Furthermore, we assessed the relationship between fruit nutrients (water, lipid, protein, fiber, carbohydrate, and energy) and species degree, pairwise interaction frequency, interaction strength, and Z-score (species contribution to nestedness) in the seed dispersal networks. Among processes shaping the two mutualistic network structures, phenological overlap was most important in explaining the frequency of pairwise interactions in the pollination network, while a combination of morphological constraint and species relative abundance best explained the frequency of pairwise interactions in the seed dispersal network. Furthermore, morphological constraint among species within the pollination network predicted nestedness. In addition, the combination of species relative abundance, phenological overlap and morphological constraint could explain the nestedness of the seed dispersal network. Our results showed that the water and fiber content of fruits influences both the species degree and interaction strength within the seed dispersal network. Overall, our findings provide evidence regarding the difference of underlying processes that shape the structure of two types of mutualistic networks within a research system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001246Mutualistic networkBirdAbundancePhenologyMorphologyFruit nutrients |
| spellingShingle | Praeploy Nonsri Xuelian He Luxiang Lin Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest Global Ecology and Conservation Mutualistic network Bird Abundance Phenology Morphology Fruit nutrients |
| title | Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| title_full | Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| title_short | Evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird-plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| title_sort | evaluating drivers shaping the structure of bird plant pollination and seed dispersal mutualistic networks in a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest |
| topic | Mutualistic network Bird Abundance Phenology Morphology Fruit nutrients |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001246 |
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