Wed, Aug 17, 2022: 8:00 AM-8:15 AM
516B
Background/Question/MethodsPlant-pollinator interactions play a key role in the success of plant reproduction, animal survival, and the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. These interactions are important for more than 90% of flowering plants and more than 70% of crops used as food resources in the world. Plant and animal communities show profound changes along ecological succession gradients, usually associated with differences in morphological and physiological traits. However, there is a lack of information on how succession and phenology in tropical dry forests (TDF) influence plant communities, floral visitors, and their interactions. In this study, we analyze for the first time in a TDF the functional dynamics of plant-flower visitor interactions at the community level across a successional gradient. We evaluated changes in the abundance and diversity of blooming plant species and floral visitors, as well phenological patterns and interaction networks among early, intermediate, and late-successional stages of a Mexican tropical dry forest, and between dry and rainy seasons. We also analyzed the dissimilarity of species interaction networks between sites and seasons.
Results/ConclusionsWe found a higher diversity of blooming plant species and animal species richness in intermediate and late successional stages. Peak abundance of floral visitors overlapped with flowering peaks in late-successional stages, but this was not consistently the case in early and intermediate stages. Plant-floral visitor networks differed in structure according to successional stage and season but network metrics associated with specialization were higher in late successional stages. Interaction networks were more dissimilar between dry and wet seasons within successional stages than between successional stages within seasons, suggesting connectivity across successional sites during each season. We also found that closely related plant species do not necessarily share the same pollination systems in any successional stage. Our results showed that plant-floral visitor interactions are dynamic relationships determined by phenology and successional changes in the diversity of flowering plant species and floral visitors. These relationships play a determining role in the survival and maintenance of populations of plants and pollinators. In the current scenario of fragmentation and degradation of TDF, this study highlights the importance of conserving mature or late-successional forests for the preservation of critical plant-pollination interactions and pollination services.
Results/ConclusionsWe found a higher diversity of blooming plant species and animal species richness in intermediate and late successional stages. Peak abundance of floral visitors overlapped with flowering peaks in late-successional stages, but this was not consistently the case in early and intermediate stages. Plant-floral visitor networks differed in structure according to successional stage and season but network metrics associated with specialization were higher in late successional stages. Interaction networks were more dissimilar between dry and wet seasons within successional stages than between successional stages within seasons, suggesting connectivity across successional sites during each season. We also found that closely related plant species do not necessarily share the same pollination systems in any successional stage. Our results showed that plant-floral visitor interactions are dynamic relationships determined by phenology and successional changes in the diversity of flowering plant species and floral visitors. These relationships play a determining role in the survival and maintenance of populations of plants and pollinators. In the current scenario of fragmentation and degradation of TDF, this study highlights the importance of conserving mature or late-successional forests for the preservation of critical plant-pollination interactions and pollination services.