Between-year changes in community composition shape species’ roles in an Arctic plant–pollinator network

• Published in: Oikos
• Main Authors: Cirtwill , Alyssa R., Roslin, Tomas, Rasmussen, Claus, Olesen, Jens Mogens, Stouffer, Daniel B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; Zackenberg
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/betweenyear-changes-in-community-composition-shape-species-roles-in-an-arctic-plantpollinator-network(55dd0539-08e2-4062-933a-dcb9f67e69ea).html; https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.05074

Inter-annual turnover in community composition can affect the richness and functioning of ecological communities. If incoming and outgoing species do not interact with the same partners, ecological functions such as pollination may be disrupted. Here, we explore the extent to which turnover affects species’ roles – as defined based on their participation in different motifs positions – in a series of temporally replicated plant–pollinator networks from high-Arctic Zackenberg, Greenland. We observed substantial turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages, combined with significant variation in species’ roles between networks. Variation in the roles of plants and pollinators tended to increase with the amount of community turnover, although a negative interaction between turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages complicated this trend for the roles of pollinators. This suggests that increasing turnover in the future will result in changes to the roles of plants and likely those of pollinators. These changing roles may in turn affect the functioning or stability of this pollination network. Inter-annual turnover in community composition can affect the richness and functioning of ecological communities. If incoming and outgoing species do not interact with the same partners, ecological functions such as pollination may be disrupted. Here, we explore the extent to which turnover affects species’ roles – as defined based on their participation in different motifs positions – in a series of temporally replicated plant–pollinator networks from high-Arctic Zackenberg, Greenland. We observed substantial turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages, combined with significant variation in species’ roles between networks. Variation in the roles of plants and pollinators tended to increase with the amount of community turnover, although a negative interaction between turnover in the plant and pollinator assemblages complicated this trend for the roles of pollinators. This suggests that increasing turnover in the future will result in changes to the roles of plants and likely those of pollinators. These changing roles may in turn affect the functioning or stability of this pollination network.