Pollination niches shift across climate gradients

Interspecific interactions vary along elevation and influence plant niches and hence species coexistence. Rare flowering species that are few in number within the community may offset competitive disadvantages in the utilization of abiotic resources through pollination advantages, thereby achieving higher reproductive fitness. However, the variation of pollination niches across different numbers of plant species along different ecological regions remains unclear. We integrated data from 91 global pollination networks and floral abundance to analyze the pollination strategies and interactions of rare species across elevational or environmental gradients.

种间相互作用（interspecific interactions）沿海拔梯度发生动态变化，可调控植物生态位（plant niches），进而影响物种共存（species coexistence）过程。群落内数量稀少的开花物种，可借助传粉优势弥补非生物资源利用中的竞争劣势，从而获得更高的繁殖适合度（reproductive fitness）。然而，在不同生态区域中，随植物物种数量变化的传粉生态位（pollination niches）变异规律仍未明晰。本研究整合了全球91个传粉网络（pollination networks）数据集与花多度（floral abundance）数据，旨在分析不同海拔或环境梯度下稀有物种的传粉策略与种间相互作用。