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Optimizing size thresholds in a plant–pollinator interaction web: towards a mechanistic understanding of ecological networks

  • Community ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Using functional traits together with abundance effects strengthens the prediction of interactions between pairs of species in ecological networks. Insights into the way species interact as well as prediction accuracy can be gained when thresholds for trait value combinations that make interactions possible are optimized through model selection. I present novel data of two subalpine plant–pollinator communities and build several stochastic models integrating flower abundance and morphological threshold rules that allow or restrict interactions between species. The number of correctly predicted interactions was highest when thresholds were set so that the insect’s proboscis was not shorter than the nectar-holder depth minus 1–1.6 mm, and not wider than the nectar-holder width minus 0.5 mm. In comparison with models based solely on plant abundance effects, the model incorporating optimized size thresholds better predicted the distribution of the trait differences between plants and insects. This indicates that a mechanistic approach of interaction webs based on optimized size thresholds provides valuable information on community structure. The possible implications for community functioning are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I am very grateful to Marion Lombard for her help during field work and to the entomologists who identified the insects: Félix Amiet (Apoidea), Bernhard Merz (Tephritidae), Cinzia Pradella (Cerambicydae), Jean-Pierre Sarthou (Syrphidae), and Phil Withers (other Diptera), and to the members of the internet forum www.insectes.org for their help with other Coleoptera. I also thank Jon Ågren and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, as well as Silvia Dingwall for her English corrections. This work was funded by an interface LECA grant from CNRS. The experiments comply with the current laws of France.

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  1. Ecosystem Boundaries Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 6500, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Sébastien Ibanez

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, UMR CNRS 5553, Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 38041, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Sébastien Ibanez

  3. Station Alpine Joseph Fourier, UMS CNRS 2925, Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 38041, Grenoble, France

    Sébastien Ibanez

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  1. Sébastien Ibanez
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Correspondence to Sébastien Ibanez.

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Communicated by Jon Ågren.

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Ibanez, S. Optimizing size thresholds in a plant–pollinator interaction web: towards a mechanistic understanding of ecological networks. Oecologia 170, 233–242 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2290-3

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