Recent fire in a Mediterranean ecosystem strengthens hoverfly populations and their interaction networks with plants.

ABSTRACT: Fire affects many critical ecological processes, including pollination, and effects of climate change on fire regimes may have profound consequences that are difficult to predict. Considerable work has examined effects of fire on pollinator diversity, but relatively few studies have examined these effects on interaction networks including those of pollinators other than bees. We examined the effects of a severe wildfire on hoverfly pollinators in a Mediterranean island system. Using data collected over 3 consecutive years at burnt and unburnt sites, we documented differences in species diversity, abundance, and functional traits, as well as hoverfly interactions with flowering plants. Hoverfly abundance and species richness peaked during the first post-fire flowering season (year 1), which

SUBMITTER: Nakas G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9905663 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature