Downscaling mutualistic networks from species to individuals reveals consistent interaction niches and roles within plant populations.

ABSTRACT: Species-level networks emerge as the combination of interactions spanning multiple individuals, and their study has received considerable attention over the past 30 y. However, less is known about the structure of interaction configurations within species, even though individuals are the actual interacting units in nature. We compiled 46 empirical, individual-based, interaction networks on plant-animal seed dispersal mutualisms, comprising 1,037 plant individuals across 29 species from various regions. We compared the structure of individual-based networks to that of species-based networks and, by extending the niche concept to interaction assemblages, we explored individual plant specialization. Using a Bayesian framework to account for uncertainty derived from sampling, we examined how p

SUBMITTER: Quintero E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11848293 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature