Macroevolutionary stability predicts interaction patterns of species in seed dispersal networks

Author(s)

Burin, Gustavo ^{[1, 2]} ; Guimaraes Jr, Paulo R. ; Quental, Tiago B. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Nat Hist Museum, Dept Life Sci, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 5BD - England

^[3] Guimaraes Jr, Jr., Paulo R., Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science; v. 372, n. 6543, p. 733+, MAY 14 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Assessing deep-time mechanisms affecting the assembly of ecological networks is key to understanding biodiversity changes on broader time scales. We combined analyses of diversification rates with interaction network descriptors from 468 bird species belonging to 29 seed dispersal networks to show that bird species that contribute most to the network structure of plant-frugivore interactions belong to lineages that show higher macroevolutionary stability. This association is stronger in warmer, wetter, less seasonal environments. We infer that the macroevolutionary sorting mechanism acts through the regional pool of species by sorting species on the basis of the available relative differences in diversification rates, rather than absolute rates. Our results illustrate how the interplay between interaction patterns and diversification dynamics may shape the organization and long-term dynamics of ecological networks. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/04821-2 - Environmental changes in deep time and the diversification of terrestrial vertebrates
• Grantee: Gustavo Burin Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 12/04072-3 - The role of extinction and speciation rates, and the effect of different levels of biological organization on the origin and maintenance of biodiversity
• Grantee: Tiago Bosisio Quental
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/03621-9 - The roles of diet, speciation and extinction on bird diversification and frugivory network assembling
• Grantee: Gustavo Burin Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/14809-0 - Evolutionary dynamics in ecological networks
• Grantee: Paulo Roberto Guimarães Junior
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 18/05462-6 - Ecological controls of biodiversity in deep time
• Grantee: Tiago Bosisio Quental
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants