10.5061/DRYAD.KK75K1P
Galiana, Nuria
French National Centre for Scientific Research
Hawkins, Bradford A.
University of California, Irvine
Montoya, Jose M.
French National Centre for Scientific Research
Data from: The geographical variation of network structure is scale
dependent: understanding the biotic specialization of host-parasitoid
networks
Dryad
dataset
2019
ecological networks
host-parasitoid food web
biotic specialization
2019-02-21T21:37:02Z
2019-02-21T21:37:02Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03684
45649 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Research on the structure of ecological networks suggests that a number of
universal patterns exist. Historically, biotic specialization has been
thought to increase towards the Equator. Yet, recent studies have
challenged this view showing non-conclusive results. Most studies
analysing the geographical variation in biotic specialization focus,
however, only on the local scale. Little is known about how the
geographical variation of network structure depends on the spatial scale
of observation (i.e., from local to regional spatial scales). This should
be remedied, as network structure changes as the spatial scale of
observation changes, and the magnitude and shape of these changes can
elucidate the mechanisms behind the geographical variation in biotic
specialization. Here we analyse four facets of biotic specialization in
host-parasitoid networks along gradients of climatic constancy,
classifying the networks according to their spatial extension (local or
regional). Namely, we analyse network connectance, consumer diet overlap,
consumer diet breadth, and resource vulnerability at both local and
regional scales along the gradients of both current climatic constancy and
historical climatic change. While at the regional scale none of the
climatic variables are associated to biotic specialization, at the local
scale, network connectance, consumer diet overlap, and resource
vulnerability decrease with current climatic constancy, whereas consumer
generalism increases (i.e., broader diet breadths in tropical areas).
Similar patterns are observed along the gradient of historical climatic
change. We provide an explanation based on different beta-diversity for
consumers and resources across the geographical gradients. Our results
show that the geographical gradient of biotic specialization is not
universal. It depends on both the facet of biotic specialization and the
spatial scale of observation.
Table S7.Dataset_Geographical.varGeographical variation of Host-Parasitoid
networks across two different spatial scales. The file contains for each
network: geographical location, number of hosts, number of parasitoids,
number of species, connectance, mean generality, mean vulnerability and
parasitoid:host ratios. The environmental variables associated to each
location are: mean annual temperature range, and past climatic-change. The
source of the original paper where each network was extracted from is also
provided.