Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Local and regional specialization in plant-pollinator networks

Carstensen, D. W., Trøjelsgaard, K., Ollerton, J. and Morellato, L. P. C. (2018) Local and regional specialization in plant-pollinator networks. Oikos. 127(4), pp. 531-537. 1600-0706.

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[thumbnail of Carstensen et al. final manuscript.pdf]
Carstensen et al. final manuscript.pdf
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Local and regional specialization in plant-pollinator networks.pdf - Accepted Version
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Abstract:
Specialization of species is often studied in ecology but its quantification and meaning is disputed. More recently, ecological network analysis has been widely used as a tool to quantify specialization, but here its true meaning is also debated. However, irrespective of the tool used, the geographic scale at which specialization is measured remains central. Consequently, we use data sets of plant-pollinator networks from Brazil and the Canary Islands to explore specialization at local and regional scales. We ask how local specialization of a species is related to its regional specialization, and whether or not species tend to interact with a non-random set of partners in local communities. Local and regional specialization were strongly correlated around the 1:1 line, indicating that species conserve their specialization levels across spatial scales. Furthermore, most plants and pollinators also showed link conservatism repeatedly across local communities, and thus seem to be constrained in their fundamental niche. However, some species are more constrained than others, indicating true specialists. We argue that several geographically separated populations should be evaluated in order to provide a robust evaluation of species specialization.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Community, scale, spatial variation, partner fidelity, link conservatism
Creators:
Carstensen, D. W., Trøjelsgaard, K., Ollerton, J. and Morellato, L. P. C.
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Environmental Science
Date:
1 April 2018
Date Type:
Publication
Page Range:
pp. 531-537
Journal or Publication Title:
Oikos
Volume:
127
Number:
4
Number of Pages:
7
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1111/oik.04436
ISSN:
1600-0706
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
Related URLs:
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