2026/01/01 by Virginia Domínguez‐Garcia, Francisco P. Molina, Alfonso Allen‐Perkins +2 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Climate change #Community #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Null model #Persistence (discontinuity) #Plant and animal studies #Pollinator #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Stability (learning theory) #Temporal scales #Variation (astronomy)
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/ele.70293
published in Ecology Letters 29(1), e70293 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/01/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Despite widespread recognition of the dynamic nature of ecological interactions, the consequences for community persistence of the observed year-to-year changes in species interactions have remained overlooked. Our research bridges this gap, leveraging a uniquely high-quality dataset spanning 8 years and 12 independent sites-offering unparalleled resolution to examine plant-pollinator interactions. Here, we characterise year-to-year variation in plant-pollinator interactions and compare their structural stability (a robust theoretical measure describing species persistence) with that of null models simulating random rewiring. We discover that although most interaction changes (80%) are caused by species turnover, it is the temporal rewiring among permanent species that primarily enhances pollinator persistence. This interaction rewiring is not random and effectively boosts pollinator persistence despite being primarily determined by changes in the phenologies and abundances of the permanent pollinator species. While not fully optimised, these adaptive responses underscore the vital role of rewiring in fostering ecological stability amid a changing world.