Plant–frugivore interactions across the Caribbean islands: Modularity, invader complexes and the importance of generalist species

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  • Vollstädt, Max
  • Mauro Galetti
  • Christopher N. Kaiser-Bunbury
  • Benno I. Simmons
  • Gonçalves, Fernando
  • Alcides L. Morales-Pérez
  • Luis Navarro
  • Fabio L. Tarazona-Tubens
  • Spencer Schubert
  • Tomas Carlo
  • Jackeline Salazar
  • Michel Faife-Cabrera
  • Allan Strong
  • Hannah Madden
  • Adam Mitchell
  • Dalsgaard, Bo

Aim: Mutualistic interactions between plants and animals are fundamental for the maintenance of natural communities and the ecosystem services they provide. However, particularly in human-dominated island ecosystems, introduced species may alter mutualistic interactions. Based on an extensive dataset of plant–frugivore interactions, we mapped and analysed a meta-network across the Caribbean archipelago. Specifically, we searched for subcommunity structure (modularity) and identified the types of species facilitating the integration of introduced species in the Caribbean meta-network. Location: Caribbean archipelago (Lucayan archipelago, Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles). Methods: We reviewed published scientific literature, unpublished theses and other nonpeer-reviewed sources to compile an extensive dataset of plant–frugivore interactions. We visualized spatial patterns and conducted a modularity analysis of the cross-island meta-network. We also examined which species were most likely to interact with introduced species: (1) endemic, nonendemic native or introduced species, and (2) generalized or specialized species. Results: We reported 3060 records of interactions between 486 plant and 178 frugivore species. The Caribbean meta-network was organized in 13 modules, driven by a combination of functional or taxonomic (modules dominated by certain groups of frugivores) and biogeographical (island-specific modules) mechanisms. Few introduced species or interaction pairs were shared across islands, suggesting little homogenization of the plant–frugivore meta-network at the regional scale. However, we found evidence of “invader complexes,” as introduced frugivores were more likely to interact with introduced plants than expected at random. Moreover, we found generalist species more likely to interact with introduced species than were specialized species. Main conclusions: These results demonstrate that generalist species and “invader complexes” may facilitate the incorporation of introduced species into plant–frugivore communities. Despite the influx of introduced species, the meta-network was structured into modules related to biogeographical and functional or taxonomic affinities. These findings reveal how introduced species become an integral part of mutualistic systems on tropical islands.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftDiversity and Distributions
Vol/bind28
Udgave nummer11
Sider (fra-til)2361-2374
Antal sider14
ISSN1366-9516
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This work is dedicated to our colleague and coauthor Michel Faife-Cabrera who passed away due to Covid-19 complications. M. Galetti thanks CNPq and University of Miami for financial support. M.G.R. Vollstädt, C. N. Kaiser-Bunbury, B. I. Simmons, F. Gonçalves, and B. Dalsgaard thank the Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant no. 0135-00333B). Funding for A. Strong's work was provided by an NSF grant to T. W. Sherry (Tulane University) and R. T. Holmes (Dartmouth College), the Chicago Zoological Society, Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid-of Research, the World Nature Association, and The Louisiana Educational Quality Support Fund. A. Strong's work benefitted from collaborations with M. Johnson, T. Sherry, A. Sutton and the late R. Sutton. Funding for S. Schubert's work was provided by Rufford Foundation Small Grants 1, 2, & Booster, in addition to the Old Dominion University Paul W. Kirk Jr Student Research Award, a British Ornithologists' Union Student Research Award, and the BirdsCaribbean David S. Lee Fund. J. Salazar's work was funded by FONDOCyT. (Ministerio de Educaciòn Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología), Project 1B4-9. F. L. Tarazona-Tubens is supported by McKight Fellowship. B. I. Simmons was supported by a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship. We also thank all researchers who have worked intensively in the Caribbean.

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge Rice Research Institute of Iran, Rasht, Iran, for providing the site for experiment and laboratory measurements. Also, the authors would like to thank the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czechia, project GAJU 085/2022/Z, for the financial support of this study.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Diversity and Distributions published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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