Epiphytes are hyper‐diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non‐vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer‐reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non‐vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non‐vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events.

Este estudo objetivou analisar a diversidade florística da comunidade de bromélias epifíticas em um fragmento florestal urbano no Parque Ecológico Municipal José Milanese no município de Criciúma, sul de Santa Catarina. A flora epifítica de Bromeliaceae foi registrada utilizando-se o método expedito por caminhamento e de quadrantes centrados. A diversidade e frequência foram estimadas pelo número de espécies e pela ocorrência (presença) em cada zona do forófito. Foram registradas as estratégias de polinização e dispersão para cada espécie observada. Para a caracterização da distribuição horizontal foram calculadas as frequências relativas por forófitos e por segmentos de forófitos. Foram registradas 18 espécies de bromeliáceas, sendo 13 espécies pelo levantamento fitossociológico e cinco pelo método de caminhamento. Entre os cinco gêneros encontrados, Tillandsia e Vriesea tiveram o maior número de espécies. A frequência e a riqueza das espécies mostraram diferenças significativas entre fuste e copa. Os valores obtidos por meio da análise de correlação demonstraram que os diâmetros maiores dos forófitos apresentaram maior riqueza de espécies. Estudos aprofundados que visem a levantar a biodiversidade e estrutura das comunidades vegetais são relevantes para propor medidas de conservação destes fragmentos florestais, que mantém grande biodiversidade local.Palavras-Chave: Biodiversidade, Bromeliaceae, estrutura comunitária, florística.

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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.

Among the rocky shores’ biota, the networks of interaction between macroalgae and associated organisms, especially gastropods, stand out. In order to contribute to the understanding of the ecology of rocky shores, this study aims to evaluate the relation between macroalgae and associated gastropods in Ribanceira Beach, Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The survey of algae samples took place in a wet season, using 20 cm x 20 cm quadrants, allocated in 18 transects distributed equally in the infra and mesolittoral zones, with five points each. In the laboratory, algae were screened and associated gastropods identified. Concepts of network theory were applied for a better understanding of interactions among organisms, where connectance descriptors, niche overlap and centrality index for each species were calculated. Multivariate techniques were used to assess the significance of intertidal zones, morphofunctional group and other variables in the composition of the associated gastropods. The sampling resulted in a total of 1.466 gastropods, distributed in 14 species and nine families. In relation to the macroalgae, 14 species were identified, with seven presenting associated gastropods. The ecological network showed low connectance and niche overlap for both levels (gastropods and macroalgae), suggesting the existence of many specific interactions. The centrality values highlighted Eulithidium affine (C.B. Adams, 1850) and Sargassum cymosum C. Agardh as key species in the studied network. The mass and morphofunctional group of the macroalgae sampled showed influence in the composition of the associated community. Cortical algae, especially S. cymosum, stood out with high levels of species richness and species density of associated gastropods, suggesting importance in the structural complexity of macroalgae for gastropods. The non-significant effect of the tidal zone for the gastropod composition was highlighted, suggesting that the nesting and foraging stability provided by the macroalgae allows the same gastropod species to occur in both infralittoral and mesolittoral zones.