Species interactions–area relationships: biological invasions and network structure in relation to island area

Green roofs can mitigate a number of urban environmental problems when green roof plant communities provide ecosystem services. However, this perspective may fail to address ecological aspects of the plant community. In particular, it does not account for the potential for green roofs to facilitate biological invasions. We consider current research in green roof ecology in light of the literature on biological invasions, focusing on plant invasion. We evaluate the role of species composition and novel communities, species interactions, succession, and dispersal on the trajectory of green roof plant communities. Green roofs have the potential to introduce invasive species through initial plantings, to become dominated by invasive species, and to spread invasive species, and we provide recommendations for plant selection and maintenance to reduce the risks of facilitating plant invasions to surrounding communities.

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On the temporally flexible structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks

10.1101/2020.04.11.037366 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paul J. CaraDonna ◽

Nickolas M. Waser

Keyword(s):

Temporal Variation ◽

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Interspecific Interactions ◽

Activity Period ◽

Individual Species ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

Short Term ◽

Temporal Flexibility ◽

Plant Pollinator

AbstractEcological communities consist of species that are joined in complex networks of interspecific interaction. The interactions that networks depict often form and dissolve rapidly, but this temporal variation is not well integrated into our understanding of the causes and consequences of network structure. If interspecific interactions exhibit temporal flexibility across time periods over which organisms co-occur, then the emergent structure of the corresponding network may also be temporally flexible, something that a temporally-static perspective would miss. Here, we use an empirical system to examine short-term flexibility in network structure (connectance, nestedness, and specialization), and in individual species interactions that contribute to that structure. We investigated weekly plant-pollinator networks in a subalpine ecosystem across three summer growing seasons. To link the interactions of individual species to properties of their networks, we examined weekly temporal variation in species’ contributions to network structure. As a test of the potential robustness of networks to perturbation, we also simulated the random loss of species from weekly networks. We then compared the properties of weekly networks to the properties of cumulative networks that aggregate field observations over each full season. A week-to-week view reveals considerable flexibility in the interactions of individual species and their contributions to network structure. For example, species that would be considered relatively generalized across their entire activity period may be much more specialized at certain times, and at no point as generalized as the cumulative network may suggest. Furthermore, a week-to-week view reveals corresponding temporal flexibility in network structure and potential robustness throughout each summer growing season. We conclude that short-term flexibility in species interactions leads to short-term variation in network properties, and that a season-long, cumulative perspective may miss important aspects of the way in which species interact, with implications for understanding their ecology, evolution, and conservation.

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Processes entangling interactions in communities: forbidden links are more important than abundance in a hummingbird–plant network

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2013.2397 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 281 (1780) ◽

pp. 20132397 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

Jeferson Vizentin-Bugoni ◽

Pietro Kiyoshi Maruyama ◽

Marlies Sazima

Keyword(s):

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Atlantic Rainforest ◽

Relative Importance ◽

Ecological Network ◽

Plant Interaction ◽

Multiple Processes ◽

Network Metrics

Understanding the relative importance of multiple processes on structuring species interactions within communities is one of the major challenges in ecology. Here, we evaluated the relative importance of species abundance and forbidden links in structuring a hummingbird–plant interaction network from the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. Our results show that models incorporating phenological overlapping and morphological matches were more accurate in predicting the observed interactions than models considering species abundance. This means that forbidden links, by imposing constraints on species interactions, play a greater role than species abundance in structuring the ecological network. We also show that using the frequency of interaction as a proxy for species abundance and network metrics to describe the detailed network structure might lead to biased conclusions regarding mechanisms generating network structure. Together, our findings suggest that species abundance can be a less important driver of species interactions in communities than previously thought.

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Bringing Elton and Grinnell Together: a quantitative framework to represent the biogeography of ecological interaction networks

10.1101/055558 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dominique Gravel ◽

Benjamin Baiser ◽

Jennifer A. Dunne ◽

Jens-Peter Kopelke ◽

Neo D. Martinez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Distribution ◽

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Ecological Interactions ◽

Distribution Modelling ◽

Environment Temperature ◽

Host Parasite ◽

The Way

AbstractBiogeography has traditionally focused on the spatial distribution and abundance of species. Both are driven by the way species interact with one another, but also by the way these interactions vary across time and space. Here, we call for an integrated approach, adopting the view that community structure is best represented as a network of ecological interactions, and show how it translates to biogeography questions. We propose that the ecological niche should encompass the effect of the environment on species distribution (the Grinnellian dimension of the niche) and on the ecological interactions among them (the Eltonian dimension). Starting from this concept, we develop a quantitative theory to explain turnover of interactions in space and timei.e. a novel approach to interaction distribution modelling. We apply this framework to host parasite interactions across Europe and find that two aspects of the environment (temperature and precipitation) exert a strong imprint on species co-occurrence, but not on species interactions. Even where species co-occur, interaction proves to be stochastic rather than deterministic, adding to variation in realized network structure. We also find that a large majority of host-parasite pairs are never found together, thus precluding any inferences regarding their probability to interact. This first attempt to explain variation of network structure at large spatial scales opens new perspectives at the interface of species distribution modelling and community ecology.

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Rethinking Biological Invasions as a Metacommunity Problem

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2020.584701 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Bryan L. Brown ◽

Jacob N. Barney

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Native Species ◽

Biotic Resistance ◽

Propagule Pressure ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Invasion Biology ◽

Enemy Release ◽

Multi Scale

Perhaps more than any other ecological discipline, invasion biology has married the practices of basic science and the application of that science. The conceptual frameworks of population regulation, metapopulations, supply-side ecology, and community assembly have all to some degree informed the regulation, management, and prevention of biological invasions. Invasion biology needs to continue to adopt emerging frameworks and paradigms to progress as both a basic and applied science. This need is urgent as the biological invasion problem continues to worsen. The development of metacommunity theory in the last two decades represents a paradigm-shifting approach to community ecology that emphasizes the multi-scale nature of community assembly and biodiversity regulation. Work on metacommunities has demonstrated that even relatively simple processes at local scales are often heavily influenced by regional-scale processes driven primarily by the dispersal of organisms. Often the influence of dispersal interacts with, or even swamps, the influence of local-scale drivers like environmental conditions and species interactions. An emphasis on dispersal and a focus on multi-scale processes enable metacommunity theory to contribute strongly to the advancement of invasion biology. Propagule pressure of invaders has been identified as one of the most important drivers facilitating invasion, so the metacommunity concept, designed to address how dispersal-driven dynamics affect community structure, can directly address many of the central questions of invasion biology. Here we revisit many of the important concepts and paradigms of biological invasions—propagule pressure, biotic resistance, enemy release, functional traits, neonative species, human-assisted transport,—and view those concepts through the lens of metacommunity theory. In doing so, we accomplish several goals. First, we show that work on metacommunities has generated multiple predictions, models, and the tools that can be directly applied to invasion scenarios. Among these predictions is that invasibility of a community should decrease with both local controls on community assembly, and the dispersal rates of native species. Second, we demonstrate that framing biological invasions in metacommunity terms actually unifies several seemingly disparate concepts central to invasion biology. Finally, we recommend several courses of action for the control and management of invasive species that emerge from applying the concepts of metacommunity theory.

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Community structure and ecological specialization in plant–ant interactions

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467415000139 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 325-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paola A. Barriga ◽

Carsten F. Dormann ◽

Edward E. Gbur ◽

Cynthia L Sagers

Keyword(s):

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Null Model ◽

Interaction Networks ◽

Host Specialization ◽

Random Networks ◽

Ecological Specialization ◽

Study Sites ◽

Plant Extinction

Abstract:Environmental effects on species interactions can be studied by comparative analyses of network structure. For example, comparison of interaction networks among study sites can provide clues to geographic variation of host breadth. Obligate plant–ant interactions are ideal systems to explore these phenomena because they are long term and can be accurately sampled in the field. We tested two hypotheses: (1) network structure and host specialization do not vary among communities, and (2) the effects of plant extinction do not vary among communities. We sampled 10 or more plants for each of the 30 ant–plant species found in three Neotropical locations. We found that network specialization,H2′, was significantly higher than expected in random networks. The ant or plant specialization index,d′, distribution did not vary among localities, neither varied in link or asymmetry distribution. Plant extinction simulations showed that these interactions are vulnerable to plant loss, and the null model was more robust than the observed networks. This study provides a foundation on which plant and ant phylogenies can be added to explore compartment evolution.

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Patterns of introduced species interactions affect multiple aspects of network structure in plant–pollinator communities

Ecology ◽

10.1890/13-2229.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 95 (10) ◽

pp. 2953-2963 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Laura Russo ◽

Jane Memmott ◽

Daniel Montoya ◽

Katriona Shea ◽

Yvonne M. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Introduced Species ◽

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Plant Pollinator

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Modelling biological invasions: species traits, species interactions, and habitat heterogeneity

Mathematical Biosciences ◽

10.1016/s0025-5564(02)00213-4 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 183 (1) ◽

pp. 93-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Sergio A. Cannas ◽

Diana E. Marco ◽

Sergio A. Páez

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Habitat Heterogeneity ◽

Species Traits

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Modularity and specialization in bat–fly interaction networks are remarkably consistent across patches within urbanized landscapes and spatial scales

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/cz/zoaa072 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gustavo Lima Urbieta ◽

Gustavo Graciolli ◽

Jeferson Vizentin-Bugoni

Keyword(s):

Network Structure ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Evolutionary Time ◽

Surrounding Matrix ◽

Modular Networks ◽

Human Modification ◽

Bat Fly ◽

Patterns Of Interaction

Abstract Patterns of specialization and the structure of interactions between bats and ectoparasitic flies have been studied mostly on non-urban environments and at local scales. Thus, how anthropogenic disturbances influence species interactions and network structure in this system remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated patterns of interaction between Phyllostomidae bats and ectoparasitic Streblidae flies, and variations in network specialization and structure across Cerrado patches within urbanized landscapes in Brazil and between local and regional scales. We found high similarity in the richness and composition of bat and fly species across communities, associated with low turnover of interactions between networks. The high specialization of bat–streblid interactions resulted in little connected and modular networks, with the emergence of modules containing subsets of species that interact exclusively or primarily with each other. Such similarities in species and interaction composition and network structure across communities and scales suggest that bat–fly interactions within Cerrado patches are little affected by the degree of human modification in the surrounding matrix. This remarkable consistency is likely promoted by specific behaviors, the tolerance of Phyllostomidae bats to surrounding urbanized landscapes as well as by the specificity of the streblid–bat interactions shaped over evolutionary time.

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Global and regional ecological boundaries drive abrupt changes in avian frugivory interactions

10.1101/2021.09.18.460873 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lucas P Martins ◽

Daniel B Stouffer ◽

Pedro G Blendinger ◽

Katrin Bohning-Gaese ◽

Galo Buitron-Jurado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Network Structure ◽

Human Disturbance ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Large Scale ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Bird Species ◽

Ecological Boundaries ◽

Avian Frugivory ◽

Abrupt Changes ◽

Broad Spatial Scale

Species interactions can propagate disturbances across space, though ecological and biogeographic boundaries may limit this spread. We tested whether large-scale ecological boundaries (ecoregions and biomes) and human disturbance gradients increase dissimilarity among ecological networks, while accounting for background spatial and elevational effects and differences in network sampling. We assessed network dissimilarity patterns over a broad spatial scale, using 196 quantitative avian frugivory networks (encompassing 1,496 plant and 1,003 bird species) distributed across 67 ecoregions and 11 biomes. Dissimilarity in species and interactions, but not in network structure, increased significantly across ecoregion and biome boundaries and along human disturbance gradients. Our findings suggest that ecological boundaries contribute to maintaining the world's biodiversity of interactions and mitigating the propagation of disturbances at large spatial scales.

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