Spatiotemporal pattern of specialization of sunbird-plant networks on Mt. Cameroon

Janeček, Štěpán; Chmel, Kryštof; Mlíkovský, Jiří; Uceda‐Gómez, Guillermo; Janečková, Petra; Fominka, Nestoral Tajaocha; Njie, Marcus Mokake; Ewome, Francis Luma

doi:10.1007/s00442-022-05234-4

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…We acknowledge that our study takes an unbalanced worldview. Our dataset is limited to temperate Europe, which inevitably narrows down the range of possible pollinator interactions by excluding highly specialized systems such as hummingbird (Muchhala et al ., 2014), sunbird (Janeček et al ., 2021) or bat pollination (Muchhala, 2007). The recently published framework for a FES (Roddy et al ., 2021) suggests the measurement of a specific set of floral traits related to flower production and maintenance costs across different pollination systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral and reproductive traits are an independent dimension within the plant economic spectrum of temperate central Europe

et al. 2022

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Summary Major dimensions of plant ecological strategies have been widely studied bringing forward the concept of ‘economic spectra’ of plants. Sexual reproductive traits, ‘floral traits’, have been largely neglected in this context, despite their strong link to fitness. Here, we aimed at integrating floral traits into the dimensionality of plant form and function so far dominated by vegetative traits. We used principal component analyses and constructed trait networks to assess the correlation structure of leaf, belowground, plant size‐related, and floral traits. We studied forbs within two independent datasets; one compiled from central European trait databases and one sampled in the Austrian Alps. Floral traits defined the second dimension of trait variability within both datasets, while plant size determined the first dimension. Floral traits were largely independent from the leaf economic spectrum. Flower size, however, positively scaled with plant size and leaf size. Mating system was the most well‐connected trait across modules of plant tissue/organ types. The independence of floral traits was consistent also after accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species. Floral traits explained a unique part of the variation in plant form and function and thus, likely play a distinctive ecological role within the whole plant economic spectrum.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral and reproductive traits are an independent dimension within the plant economic spectrum of temperate central Europe

et al. 2022

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“…An inter‐biome‐scale study by Rojas‐Nossa et al (2016) found that the key determinants of nectar robbing among communities could be morphological adaptations of flowers for their specialized pollinators. On Mount Cameroon, morphologically generalized flowers prevail in the dry season and specialized flowers in the wet season (Janeček et al, 2022; Klomberg et al, 2022). Mirroring this, nectar robbing was more frequent in the wet season, whilst the opposite pattern was observed for thieving.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, floral traits may vary seasonally, as some plants blooming in rainy seasons have closed flowers with narrow tubes (Klomberg et al, 2022) that prevent nectar dilution (Aizen, 2003) and washing away of pollen (Mao & Huang, 2009). In the tropics, ornithophilous plants are more common in the wet season, as seen in sunbird‐pollinated plants on Mount Cameroon (Janeček et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cheaters among pollinators: Nectar robbing and thieving vary spatiotemporally with floral traits in Afrotropical forests

Sakhalkar,

Janeček,

Klomberg

et al. 2023

Ecosphere

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Nectar robbers and thieves are common antagonists in plant–pollinator communities, where they deplete nectar without pollinating flowers, substantially affecting plant reproduction. Nevertheless, little is known about the relative abundance of such nectar exploiters in communities, even though spatiotemporal changes in the frequencies of antagonists and mutualists can exert opposing selection pressures on the traits of the interacting species. Although these effects are highly dependent on the community context, interspecific interactions have almost exclusively been studied in interacting species pairs or single‐plant studies. We hypothesized that flowers might experience a trade‐off between filtering out robbers and thieves. We used an extensive dataset of video‐recorded flower–visitor interactions along a complete elevational gradient in wet and dry seasons on Mount Cameroon to assess spatiotemporal changes in robbing and thieving associated with several floral traits. Of the 14,391 recorded visits, ~4.3% were from robbers (mostly bees and birds) and ~2.1% were from thieves (mostly flies, bees, and moths). Only 29 and 39 of the 194 studied plants were robbed and thieved, respectively. We found that specialized floral traits that prevented thieving (such as long floral tubes or spurs) made flowers susceptible to robbing, and vice versa. Cheating behavior was most frequent at mid‐elevations, with more frequent robbing during the wet season and thieving during the dry season. These trends were linked to the local floral trait composition and the associations of cheating groups with specific floral traits. Our results suggest that the roles of antagonists and mutualists in shaping partner traits may vary across communities and that they deserve more attention in future studies of interspecific interactions.

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“…From these, we included all plant species that blossomed in at least three of the six transects per studied site and season and/or were common in the transects' surroundings. Data on sunbird‐plant interactions were collected by observation of individual plant specimens (used in Janeček et al., 2022).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cameroon (Janeček, Bartoš, & Njabo, 2015; Klomberg et al., 2022). Furthermore, sunbird‐plant networks were more specialized during the wet season, coinciding with the blossoming of specialized ornithophilous plants (Janeček et al., 2022). Similarly, Partida‐Lara et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of sunbird‐plant interactions on Mount Cameroon: Between neutrality and niche‐based processes

Uceda‐Gómez,

Chmel,

Janečková

et al. 2023

Biotropica

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The drivers behind plant‐pollinator interactions still need to be fully understood. Previous research has suggested that observed interactions result from either neutral interaction between species based on their abundance or from niche‐based processes, which are reflected in the adaptations of both plants and pollinators. Furthermore, the importance of both scenarios can differ depending on seasonal dynamics translated into differences in resource availability. Extensive research has been conducted on New‐World hummingbirds (Trochilidae), whereas much less is known about Old World nectar‐feeding sunbirds (Nectariniidae). Our study aimed to explore whether sunbird‐plant interactions are explained by neutral and/or niche‐based processes. Thus, we tested the effects of abundance, morphology, and nectar sugar content on the observed interactions and the link between sunbirds and plant traits. Moreover, we explored the effects of robbing on these mechanisms. Finally, we investigated the partitioning of bird pollination niches, based on floral traits. We used a dataset of sunbird‐plant interactions collected at Mount Cameroon during two seasons (dry and wet seasons). Our study shows that sunbird‐plant interactions are influenced by both neutral and niche‐based processes. Neutral processes and nectar reward were the main mechanisms underlaying the observed interactions in the dry season. However, as more ornithophilous plants bloom during the rainy season, morphological trait‐matching becomes more important. We found a correlation between bill length and floral tube dimensions and observed niche overlap among the sunbird species. Considering this and other research, we suggest that plant‐pollinator interactions are influenced by a combination of both neutral and niche‐based processes.

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Spatiotemporal pattern of specialization of sunbird-plant networks on Mt. Cameroon

Cited by 7 publications

References 76 publications

Floral and reproductive traits are an independent dimension within the plant economic spectrum of temperate central Europe

Floral and reproductive traits are an independent dimension within the plant economic spectrum of temperate central Europe

Cheaters among pollinators: Nectar robbing and thieving vary spatiotemporally with floral traits in Afrotropical forests

Drivers of sunbird‐plant interactions on Mount Cameroon: Between neutrality and niche‐based processes

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