Diel dynamics of plant-pollinator interactions: How flower opening and closure structure pollination networks

Network ecologists increasingly recognize the importance of temporal dynamics, but usually think of weeks, months or years. I will convince you that shorter timescales cannot be ignored: networks can change drastically within a single day.

An important group of plants (ligulate Asteraceae) often close the flowers around noon, forcing pollinators to switch to other plants in the afternoon. On a closer look, similar species differ in the timing of flower opening and closure.

How much can plants temporally partition their pollination niches on a daily basis?

Do pollinators ride through the day on a wave of available flower resources?