10.5061/DRYAD.D1M2Q20
Maia, Kate Pereira
University of Bristol
Vaughan, I.P.
Cardiff University
Memmott, Jane
University of Bristol
Data from: Plant species roles in pollination networks: an experimental
approach
Dryad
dataset
2019
peripheral
Centrality
pollination networks
species roles
field experiment
network structure
2019-06-06T13:34:40Z
2019-06-06T13:34:40Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.06183
226574 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Pollination is an important ecosystem service threatened by current
pollinator declines, making flower planting schemes an important strategy
to recover pollination function. However, ecologists rarely test the
attractiveness of chosen plants to pollinators in the field. Here, we
experimentally test whether plant species roles in pollination networks
can be used to identify species with the most potential to recover
plant-pollinator communities. Using published pollination networks, we
calculated each plant’s centrality and chose five central and five
peripheral plant species for introduction into replicate experimental
plots. Flower visitation by pollinators was recorded in each plot and we
tested the impact of introduced central and peripheral plant species on
the pollinator and resident plant communities and on network structure. We
found that the introduction of central plant species attracted a higher
richness and abundance of pollinators than the introduction of peripheral
species, and that the introduced central plant species occupied the most
important network roles. The high attractiveness of central species to
pollinators, however, did not negatively affect visitation to resident
plant species by pollinators. We also found that the introduction of
central plant species did not affect network structure, while networks
with introduced peripheral species had lower centralisation and
interaction evenness than networks with introduced central species. To our
knowledge, this is the first time species network roles have been tested
in a field experiment. Given that most restoration projects start at the
plant community, being able to identify the plants with the highest
potential to restore community structure and functioning should be a key
goal for ecological restoration.
Flowering SuccessFlowering success of the 10 (central and peripheral)
introduced species. Each row corresponds to the floral abundance of one
plant individual ("Plant_Number", 1-3), of one introduced plant
species, at each sampling round, subplot and plot. Columns are: plot (A
and B), number of sampling round, subplot, species name, plant number and
floral abundance.Flowering_Success.xlsxFlower AbundanceFloral abundance of
introduced and resident plant species. Floral abundance was weekly
("Week_Number") sampled per species, per subplot, per plot.
Columns are plot (A and B), week number, number of sampling round,
subplot, species name and floral
abundance.Flower_Abundance.xlsxPlant_Pollin_InteractionInteractions
between plant species and pollinator individuals. Columns are: plot (A and
B), number of sampling round, subplot, plant species name, code of
pollinator individual, pollinator order and species name. During timed
observations (15 min per subplot per sampling round), if no interactions
were observed, "Plant_Species", "Pollin_Code",
"Pollin_Order" and "Pollin_Species" are filled with
NA.
United Kingdom