López-Segoviano Gabriel, Arenas-Navarro Maribel, Nuñez-Rosas Laura E, Arizmendi María Del Coro
Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores (ENES), Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad (IIES), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
PeerJ. 2023 Oct 17;11:e16245. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16245. eCollection 2023.
The structuring of plant-hummingbird networks can be explained by multiple factors, including species abundance (., the neutrality hypothesis), matching of bill and flower morphology, phenological overlap, phylogenetic constraints, and feeding behavior. The importance of complementary morphology and phenological overlap on the hummingbird-plant network has been extensively studied, while the importance of hummingbird behavior has received less attention. In this work, we evaluated the relative importance of species abundance, morphological matching, and floral energy content in predicting the frequency of hummingbird-plant interactions. Then, we determined whether the hummingbird species' dominance hierarchy is associated with modules within the network. Moreover, we evaluated whether hummingbird specialization () is related to bill morphology (bill length and curvature) and dominance hierarchy. Finally, we determined whether generalist core hummingbird species are lees dominant in the community. We recorded plant-hummingbird interactions and behavioral dominance of hummingbird species in a temperate forest in Northwestern Mexico (El Palmito, Mexico). We measured flowers' corolla length and nectar traits and hummingbirds' weight and bill traits. We recorded 2,272 interactions among 13 hummingbird and 10 plant species. The main driver of plant-hummingbird interactions was species abundance, consistent with the neutrality interaction theory. Hummingbird specialization was related to dominance and bill length, but not to bill curvature of hummingbird species. However, generalist core hummingbird species (species that interact with many plant species) were less dominant. The frequency of interactions between hummingbirds and plants was determined by the abundance of hummingbirds and their flowers, and the dominance of hummingbird species determined the separation of the different modules and specialization. Our study suggests that abundance and feeding behavior may play an important role in North America's hummingbird-plant networks.
植物-蜂鸟网络的构建可由多种因素来解释，包括物种丰富度（如中性假说）、喙与花形态的匹配、物候重叠、系统发育限制以及取食行为。互补形态和物候重叠在蜂鸟-植物网络中的重要性已得到广泛研究，而蜂鸟行为的重要性则较少受到关注。在这项研究中，我们评估了物种丰富度、形态匹配和花的能量含量在预测蜂鸟-植物相互作用频率方面的相对重要性。然后，我们确定蜂鸟物种的优势等级是否与网络中的模块相关。此外，我们评估了蜂鸟的特化程度（）是否与喙的形态（喙长和弯曲度）及优势等级有关。最后，我们确定广食性核心蜂鸟物种在群落中是否不那么占优势。我们记录了墨西哥西北部一个温带森林（墨西哥的埃尔帕尔米托）中的植物-蜂鸟相互作用以及蜂鸟物种的行为优势。我们测量了花的花冠长度和花蜜特征以及蜂鸟的体重和喙部特征。我们记录了13种蜂鸟和10种植物之间的2272次相互作用。植物-蜂鸟相互作用的主要驱动因素是物种丰富度，这与中性相互作用理论一致。蜂鸟的特化程度与优势及喙长有关，但与蜂鸟物种的喙弯曲度无关。然而，广食性核心蜂鸟物种（与许多植物物种相互作用的物种）不那么占优势。蜂鸟与植物之间相互作用的频率由蜂鸟及其花朵的丰富度决定，蜂鸟物种的优势决定了不同模块的分离和特化程度。我们的研究表明，丰富度和取食行为可能在北美蜂鸟-植物网络中发挥重要作用。
