Nectar is the most common floral resource that mediates plant-pollinator interactions, and its spatiotemporal distribution is related to pollinator attraction and can influence pollinator activity through time. Therefore, assessing patterns of floral phenology of nectar-producing plants can help better understand the pollinator assemblage's temporal dynamics. We used an area of afforested Brazilian Cerrado covered with a highdensity plantation of Inga vera, a mass-flowering nectar-producing tree, to investigate whether intra-seasonal and daily variations in nectar availability provided by I. vera flowers affect the bee assemblage. We showed that bee abundance was positively related to intra-seasonal patterns in floral phenology and daily changes in nectar production. Although bee species richness was also associated with intra-seasonal changes in nectar availability, bee diversity (quantified using Simpson's diversity index) did not follow the same pattern. We suggest that the dominance of the invasive honeybee, Apis mellifera, on I. vera flowers may have affected the overall bee diversity over time due to an exacerbated increase in honeybee abundance. Therefore, by evaluating the temporal dynamics of nectar availability, an important floral attribute that influences plant-pollinator interactions, we suggest that planting high-rewarding tree species at high densities in open ecosystems can affect the dynamics of native bee assemblages negatively due to the exacerbated recruitment of the dominant exotic honeybee.
1. The reproduction of specialised endophagous insects relies on a fine temporal synchronization between the insect and its host plant phenology.2. Since the spatial distribution and local prevalence of specialised insects depend on both environmental conditions and biotic interactions, in this study, we assessed whether the life cycle of the predispersal seed feeding weevil, Hemicolpus abdominalis (Curculionidae), is synchronised with the reproductive phenology of its host plant, Tocoyena formosa (Rubiaceae) in the Brazilian Cerrado. Following an ecological niche modelling approach, we also tested whether the predicted distribution of this specialised weevil matches that of its host plant.3. We observed a tight synchronization between the weevil reproduction and its host plant reproductive phenology. After emergence from the fruits, adult weevils enter in reproductive diapause, with reproductive development resuming in the next reproductive season, which indicates the univoltism of this species.4. There was a high spatial congruence in the distribution of H. abdominalis and its host plant. Since the reproduction of H. abdominalis is synchronised with the host plant phenology, temporal mismatches between the weevil life cycle, and plant reproduction may affect the long-term population prevalence of the insect.5. The life cycle of the predispersal seed feeding weevil, H. abdominalis, depends on a close match with the host plant reproductive phenology, whose fruit production is entirely dependent on long-tongued hawkmoth pollinators. Hence, we highlight the importance of both biotic and abiotic conditions in shaping the distribution range of a specialised endophagous insect.
Encounters between flowers and invertebrates are key events for the functioning of tropical forests. Assessing the structure of networks composed of the interactions between those partners leads to a better understanding of ecosystem functioning and the effects of environmental factors on ecological processes. Gathering such data is, however, costly and time‐consuming, especially in the highly diverse tropics. We aimed to provide a comprehensive repository of available flower–invertebrate interaction information for the Atlantic Forest, a South American tropical forest domain. Data were obtained from published works and “gray literature,” such as theses and dissertations, as well as self‐reports by co‐authors. The data set has ~18,000 interaction records forming 482 networks, each containing between one and 1061 interaction links. Each network was sampled for about 200 h or less, with few exceptions. A total of 641 plant genera within 136 different families and 39 orders were reported, with the most abundant and rich families being Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rubiaceae. Invertebrates interacting with these plants were all arthropods from 10 orders, 129 families, and 581 genera, comprising 2419 morphotypes (including 988 named species). Hymenoptera was the most abundant and diverse order, with at least six times more records than the second‐ranked order (Lepidoptera). The complete data set shows Hymenoptera interacting with all plant orders and also shows Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera to be important nodes. Among plants, Asterales and Fabales had the highest number of interactions. The best sampled environment was forest (~8000 records), followed by pastures and crops. Savanna, grasslands, and urban environments (among others) were also reported, indicating a wide range of approaches dedicated to collecting flower–invertebrate interaction data in the Atlantic Forest domain. Nevertheless, most reported data were from forest understory or lower strata, indicating a knowledge gap about flower–invertebrate interactions at the canopy. Also, access to remote regions remains a limitation, generating sampling bias across the geographical range of the Atlantic Forest. Future studies in these continuous and hard‐to‐access forested areas will yield important new information regarding the interactions between flowers and invertebrates in the Atlantic Forest. There are no copyright restrictions on the data set. Please cite this data paper if the data are used in publications and teaching events.
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