The structure of tropical bat-plant interaction networks during an extreme El Nino-Southern Oscillation event.

ABSTRACT: Interaction network structure reflects the ecological mechanisms acting within biological communities, which are affected by environmental conditions. In tropical forests, higher precipitation usually increases fruit production, which may lead frugivores to increase specialization, resulting in more modular and less nested animal-plant networks. In these ecosystems, El Niño is a major driver of precipitation, but we still lack knowledge of how species interactions change under this influence. To understand bat-plant network structure during an extreme El Niño-Southern Oscillation event, we determined the links between plantivorous bat species and the plants they consume by DNA barcoding seeds and pulp in bat faeces. These interactions were recorded in the dry forest and rainforest of Costa

SUBMITTER: Oliveira HFM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9305221 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature