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Diniz UM, Aguiar LMDS. The interplay between spatiotemporal overlap and morphology as determinants of microstructure suggests no 'perfect fit' in a bat-flower network. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2737. [PMID: 36792891 PMCID: PMC9932087 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29965-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant-pollinator interactions in diverse tropical communities are often predicted by a combination of ecological variables, yet the interaction drivers between flower-visiting bats and plants at the community level are poorly understood. We assembled a network between Neotropical bats and flowering plants to describe its macrostructure and to test the role of neutral and niche variables in predicting microstructure. We found a moderately generalized network with internally nested modules comprising functionally similar plant and bat species. Modules grouped bats and plants with matching degrees of specialization but had considerable overlap in species morphologies and several inter-module interactions. The spatiotemporal overlap between species, closely followed by morphology, and not abundance, were the best predictors of microstructure, with functional groups of bats also interacting more frequently with plants in certain vegetation types (e.g., frugivores within forests) and seasons (e.g., long-snouted nectarivores in the dry season). Therefore, flower-visiting bats appear to have species-specific niche spaces delimited not only by their ability to exploit certain flower types but also by preferred foraging habitats and the timing of resource availability. The prominent role of resource dissimilarity across vegetation types and seasons likely reflects the heterogeneity of Neotropical savannas, and further research in biomes beyond the Cerrado is needed to better understand the complexity of this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Mendes Diniz
- Plant-Insect Interactions, School of Life Sciences, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany. .,Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
| | - Ludmilla Moura de Souza Aguiar
- grid.7632.00000 0001 2238 5157Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil ,grid.7632.00000 0001 2238 5157Zoology Department, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
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Hending D, Drew H, Holderied MW. Habitat Use of Constant Frequency Echolocating Bats in North-West Madagascar with Acoustic Evidence for a Possible New Species. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2021.23.1.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hending
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Drew
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Marc W. Holderied
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
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Stevens RD, Amarilla-Stevens HN. Dietary patterns of phyllostomid bats in interior Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
We examined patterns of dietary overlap of phyllostomid bats in interior Atlantic Forest of Paraguay. In addition, we examined microgeographic, seasonal, and species-specific, differences in dietary patterns. We obtained 4,519 dietary records for bats from two sites in eastern Paraguay representing 26 different kinds of resources. The three most abundant resources made up 85% of all dietary records. No significant difference in diets of phyllostomid bats existed between sites. Overlap was high and significantly greater than random. Overlap at both sites was higher in winter than in summer. Consumption of dietary items was different between seasons and reflected changes in consumption primarily of the three most consumed items. Resource breadth was narrower in winter than summer. Sites, season, and species together accounted for 71% of the variation in dietary items. Unique effects, after controlling for variation shared with other factors, of species and season were significant, whereas that of site was not. While much dietary variation in interior Atlantic Forest falls along phylogenetic lines, such patterns are weak and resource utilization appears to be substantively influenced by generalist ecology of bats and seasonal nature of the environment in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Stevens
- Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
- Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
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Stevens RD, Grimshaw JR. Relative contributions of ecological drift and selection on bat community structure in interior Atlantic Forest of Paraguay. Oecologia 2020; 193:645-654. [PMID: 32583124 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04683-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite extensive focus on numerous mechanisms that potentially structure Neotropical bat communities, understanding of the relative importance of any is still illusive. Recently, it has been demonstrated that all mechanisms used to explain community organization can be conceptualized as one or a combination of the few higher-level processes of dispersal, drift, selection and speciation. These four higher-level processes have not been addressed equally by Neotropical bat community ecologists. In particular, predictions formulated from a hypothesis of ecological drift have not been tested for any Neotropical bat community. Herein we contrast efficacy of predictions based on the higher-level processes of drift and selection in describing community structure of bats in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay. Predictions apply to species-environment interactions, patterns of trait variation and beta-diversity, predictability of dominant competitors and responses to seasonality. At best, there was inconsistent support for the operation of either drift or selection within this bat community. Selection, however, had more various forms of support including strong species-environment relationships, predictable patterns of dominant competitors and strong responses to seasonality. Despite stronger support for selection, a number of predictions of drift were supported as well. It is likely that a combination of both of these processes operates across the variable environments experienced in Atlantic Forest. Predictions of both processes are difficult to make operational. Support for drift often comes from failure to demonstrate a significant pattern and should not be considered strong support of a prediction. Similarly, many predictions of selection predict phenotypic patterns among species without specifying a particular trait. This is problematic because the phenotype is multifaceted and a lack of pattern in one measured trait might mask a strong pattern in some other unmeasured trait. Distilling mechanisms of community organization into four higher level processes is a substantial innovation in community ecology. Nonetheless, efforts need to be made to develop a suite of mutually exclusive and falsifiable predictions to facilitate future and more rapid understanding of community organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Stevens
- Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA. .,Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA.
| | - Jenna R Grimshaw
- Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA
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Sánchez-Losada M, Mancina CA. Diet Segregation between Sexes by a Gregarious Greater Antillean Bat, Phyllonycteris poeyi (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2019.21.2.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Sánchez-Losada
- Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversida jambos, José A. Saco, No. 601, esquina a Barnada. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
| | - Carlos A. Mancina
- Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Carretera Varona # 11835, Reparto Parajón, La Habana, Cuba
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Salinas‐Ramos VB, Ancillotto L, Bosso L, Sánchez‐Cordero V, Russo D. Interspecific competition in bats: state of knowledge and research challenges. Mamm Rev 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Valeria B. Salinas‐Ramos
- Wildlife Research Unit Dipartimento di Agraria Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II via Università 100 80055 Portici Napoli Italy
| | - Leonardo Ancillotto
- Wildlife Research Unit Dipartimento di Agraria Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II via Università 100 80055 Portici Napoli Italy
| | - Luciano Bosso
- Wildlife Research Unit Dipartimento di Agraria Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II via Università 100 80055 Portici Napoli Italy
| | - Víctor Sánchez‐Cordero
- Laboratorio de Sistemas de Información Geográfica Departamento de Zoología Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Av. Universidad 04510 Ciudad de México México
| | - Danilo Russo
- Wildlife Research Unit Dipartimento di Agraria Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II via Università 100 80055 Portici Napoli Italy
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Lucas A, Bodger O, Brosi BJ, Ford CR, Forman DW, Greig C, Hegarty M, Jones L, Neyland PJ, de Vere N. Floral resource partitioning by individuals within generalised hoverfly pollination networks revealed by DNA metabarcoding. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5133. [PMID: 29572453 PMCID: PMC5865107 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23103-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Pollination is a key ecosystem service for agriculture and wider ecosystem function. However, most pollination studies focus on Hymenoptera, with hoverflies (Syrphidae) frequently treated as a single functional group. We tested this assumption by investigating pollen carried by eleven species of hoverfly in five genera, Cheilosia, Eristalis, Rhingia, Sericomyia and Volucella, using DNA metabarcoding. Hoverflies carried pollen from 59 plant taxa, suggesting they visit a wider number of plant species than previously appreciated. Most pollen recorded came from plant taxa frequently found at our study sites, predominantly Apiaceae, Cardueae, Calluna vulgaris, Rubus fruticosus agg., and Succisa pratensis, with hoverflies transporting pollen from 40% of entomophilous plant species present. Overall pollen transport network structures were generalised, similar to other pollination networks elsewhere. All hoverfly species were also generalised with few exclusive plant/hoverfly interactions. However, using the Jaccard Index, we found significant differences in the relative composition of pollen loads between hoverfly genera, except for Volucella, demonstrating some degree of functional complementarity. Eristalis and Sericomyia species had significant differences in relative pollen load composition compared to congeners. Our results demonstrate the range of pollens transported by hoverflies and the potential pollination function undertaken within this ecologically and morphologically diverse guild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Lucas
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, UK.
| | - Owen Bodger
- Institute of Life Science, School of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Berry J Brosi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive NE, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
| | - Col R Ford
- National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, SA32 8HG, UK
| | - Dan W Forman
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Carolyn Greig
- Institute of Life Science, School of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Matthew Hegarty
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3EE, Wales, UK
| | - Laura Jones
- National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, SA32 8HG, UK
| | - Penelope J Neyland
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Natasha de Vere
- National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, SA32 8HG, UK
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3EE, Wales, UK
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