Adaptive rewiring shapes structure and stability in a three-guild herbivore-plant-pollinator network.

ABSTRACT: Animal species, encompassing both pollinators and herbivores, exhibit a preference for plants based on optimal foraging theory. Understanding the intricacies of these adaptive plant-animal interactions in the context of community assembly poses a main challenge in ecology. This study delves into the impact of adaptive interaction rewiring between species belonging to different guilds on the structure and stability of a 3-guild ecological network, incorporating both mutualistic and antagonistic interactions. Our findings reveal that adaptive rewiring results in sub-networks becoming more nested and compartmentalized. Furthermore, the rewiring of interactions uncovers a positive correlation between a plant's generalism concerning both pollinators and herbivores. Additionally, there is a posi

SUBMITTER: Su M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10791747 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature