期刊
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
卷 6, 期 2, 页码 289-295出版社
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11829-011-9170-3
关键词
Mutualistic networks; Effect of abiotic factors; Mexico; Veracruz
资金
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT) [46840, 51721]
- Instituto de Ecologia [20030-10335]
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Environmental Biology [1147630] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Despite recognition of key biotic processes in shaping the structure of biological communities, few empirical studies have explored the influences of abiotic factors on the structural properties of mutualistic networks. We tested whether temperature and precipitation contribute to temporal variation in the nestedness of mutualistic ant-plant networks. While maintaining their nested structure, nestedness increased with mean monthly precipitation and, particularly, with monthly temperature. Moreover, some species changed their role in network structure, shifting from peripheral to core species within the nested network. We could summarize that abiotic factors affect plant species in the vegetation (e.g., phenology), meaning presence/absence of food sources, consequently an increase/decrease of associations with ants, and finally, these variations to fluctuations in nestedness. While biotic factors are certainly important, greater attention needs to be given to abiotic factors as underlying determinants of the structures of ecological networks.
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