Variation on plant-pollinatior networks structure along an elevation gradient of the San Fransisco Peaks, Arizona

Authors: CHESSHIRE, PAIGE - Northern Arizona University; McCabe, Lindsie; COBB, NEIL - Northern Arizona University

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/18/2021
Publication Date: 11/26/2021
Citation: Chesshire, P.R., McCabe, L.M., Cobb, N.S. 2021. Variation on plant-pollinatior networks structure along an elevation gradient of the San Fransisco Peaks, Arizona. Insects. 12(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12121060.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12121060

Interpretive Summary: Comparisons of plant-pollinator networks along elevation gradients can help predict future impacts of changing climate on insect pollinator diversity and distribution. We compare insect pollination network structure at three elevations of the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona. We evaluate shifts in network connectedness, nestedness, modularity, and overall generalization with increased elevation. We conclude that plant-pollinator networks become more nested and generalized at higher elevations and identify critical insect pollinator species for network stability.

Technical Abstract: The structural patterns comprising bimodal pollination networks can help characterize plant-pollinator systems and the interactions that influence species distribution and diversity over time and space. We compare network organization of three plant-pollinator communities along the altitudinal gradient of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. We found that pollination networks become more connected and nested, as well as exhibit lower modularity and overall network specialization, with increasing elevation. Greater weight of generalist pollinators at higher elevations of the Peaks may result in communities less vulnerable to future species loss due to changing climate or shifts in species distribution. We uncover the critical, more generalized pollinator species likely responsible for higher nestedness and stability at the higher elevation environment. The generalist species most important for network stability may be of the greatest interest for conservation efforts; preservation of the most important links in plant-pollinator networks may help secure the poorly species and maintain species redundancy in the face of ecological change.