Floral Roles in Hummingbirds-Mediated Indirect Plant Interactions in Tropical Andean Communities.

ABSTRACT: In pollination networks, indirect plant-plant interactions mediated by their shared pollinators can shape community dynamics and species fitness; yet, the influence of floral traits on species roles remains unclear, particularly in diverse ecosystems like the tropical Andes. We studied hummingbird-mediated interactions among 31 flowering plants in three high-elevation shrubby habitats located in southern Ecuador. During August and November 2022, and January 2023, we collected stigma samples and constructed weighted interaction networks linked by heterospecific pollen grains. Species roles were determined by defining if they were donors or receivers of pollen, measured by node degree out and node degree in, respectively. We also explored the association between the abundance of flowers and

SUBMITTER: Frias-Romero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12483984 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature