Floral and pollinator functional diversity mediate network structure along an elevational gradient.

ABSTRACT: Elevational gradients in alpine ecosystems are well suited to study how plant and pollinator communities respond to climate change. In the Austrian Alps, we tested how the taxonomic and functional diversity of plants and their pollinators change with increasing elevation and how this affects plant-pollinator network structure. We measured the phenotypes of flowering plants and their pollinators and observed their interactions in 24 communities along an elevational gradient. To assess variation in floral and pollinator traits, we then quantified trait spaces (n-dimensional hypervolumes) occupied by flowers and pollinators in each community. To assess plant-pollinator network structure, we quantified the levels of complementary specialization (H2'), modularity and nestedness (weighted NODF)

SUBMITTER: Aguirre LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11607024 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature