Structure and geographical variability in mutualistic networks of plants and their frugivorous birds

• Grant number: 11/17968-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2012
• End date: October 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Roberto Guimarães Junior
• Grantee: Esther Sebastián González
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 09/54422-8 - Structure and coevolutionary dynamics in mutualistic networks, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 13/02819-7 - Biological traits and patterns of interaction in a seed dispersal network: inferring the consequences of defaunation, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Understanding the structure of animals and plant communities is one of the major challenges in ecology. One of the main variables affecting the organization of communities is the interactions between the species, such as mutualisms. Mutualistic species benefit from each other forming complex networks of interacting species. Therefore, the maintenance of these mutualistic interactions is directly linked to the maintenance of the biodiversity. Here, we investigate one keystone mutualism: seed dispersal interactions. Frugivorous species obtain food from the fruiting plants while dispersing their seeds. The main aim of this research is to characterize how patterns of interaction within seed dispersal networks vary geographically. I will use a large set of networks to identify the geographical variation in the structure of the networks and to search for general patterns at network and species level. I will analyze the seed dispersal networks using network theory, an approach that allows the characterization of interactions in communities, providing ways to quantify and to compare the structure of the species interactions across communities. As a whole, this research focuses on an important interaction pattern, because it analyses seed dispersal mutualistic interactions; uses network measures, which is a novel approach in ecology; and has a general focus because it analyses information on a wide geographical range. Therefore, it can be of interest for many researches.

Scientific publications

(11)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER. Drivers of species' role in avian seed-dispersal mutualistic networks. Journal of Animal Ecology, v. 86, n. 4, p. 878-887, JUL 2017. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; BOTELLA, FRANCISCO; OVASKAINEN, OTSO; DELGADO, ANTONIO; SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE ANTONIO. Artificial irrigation ponds and sea coast as foraging habitat for larids breeding in protected wetlands. MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH, v. 66, n. 9, p. 831-840, 2015. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; LUISA ALEXANDER, KAREN; ANTONIO SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE; BOTELLA, FRANCISCO. KEY FACTORS CONTROLLING THE METAPOPULATION DYNAMICS OF THE LITTLE GREBE TACHYBAPTUS RUFICOLLIS IN AN ARTIFICIAL HABITAT NETWORK OF IRRIGATION PONDS. ARDEOLA, v. 62, n. 1, p. 151-161, JUN 2015. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; GREEN, ANDY J.. Reduction of avian diversity in created versus natural and restored wetlands. ECOGRAPHY, v. 39, n. 12, p. 1176-1184, DEC 2016. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; DALSGAARD, BO; SANDEL, BRODY; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.. Macroecological trends in nestedness and modularity of seed-dispersal networks: human impact matters. GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, v. 24, n. 3, p. 293-303, MAR 2015. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; MOLEON, MARCOS; GIBERT, JEAN P.; BOTELLA, FRANCISCO; MATEO-TOMAS, PATRICIA; OLEA, PEDRO P.; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.; SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE A.. Nested species-rich networks of scavenging vertebrates support high levels of interspecific competition. ECOLOGY, v. 97, n. 1, p. 95-105, JAN 2016. (11/17968-2)

ASTEGIANO, JULIA; SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; CASTANHO, CAMILA DE TOLEDO. Unravelling the gender productivity gap in science: a meta-analytical review. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE, v. 6, n. 6, JUN 2019. (12/04941-1, 13/02819-7, 11/09951-2, 12/09794-7, 11/17968-2)

MORALES-REYES, ZEBENSUI; SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE A.; SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; BOTELLA, FRANCISCO; CARRETE, MARTINA; MOLEON, MARCOS. Scavenging efficiency and red fox abundance in Mediterranean mountains with and without vultures. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, v. 79, p. 81-88, FEB 2017. (11/17968-2)

BARBOSA, JOMAR M.; SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; ASNER, GREGORY P.; KNAPP, DAVID E.; ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER; MARTIN, ROBERTA E.; DIRZO, RODOLFO. Hemiparasite-host plant interactions in a fragmented landscape assessed via imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR. Ecological Applications, v. 26, n. 1, p. 55-66, JAN 2016. (11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; GREEN, ANDY J.. Habitat Use by Waterbirds in Relation to Pond Size, Water Depth, and Isolation: Lessons from a Restoration in Southern Spain. RESTORATION ECOLOGY, v. 22, n. 3, p. 311-318, MAY 2014. (13/02819-7, 11/17968-2)

SEBASTIAN-GONZALEZ, ESTHER; ANTONIO SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE; ANTONIO DONAZAR, JOSE; SELVA, NURIA; CORTES-AVIZANDA, AINARA; HIRALDO, FERNANDO; BLAZQUEZ, MIGUEL; BOTELLA, FRANCISCO; MOLEON, MARCOS. Interactive effects of obligate scavengers and scavenger community richness on lagomorph carcass consumption patterns. IBIS, v. 155, n. 4, p. 881-885, OCT 2013. (11/17968-2)