Data from: Patterns and drivers of pollen co-transport network structure vary across pollinator functional groups

The patterns and drivers of pollen transport on insect bodies can have
important consequences for plant reproductive success and floral
evolution; however, they remain little studied. Recently, pollinator
bodies have been further described as pollen competitive arenas, where
pollen grains can compete for space, with implications for the evolution
of pollen dispersal strategies and plant community assembly. However, the
identity, strength, and diversity of pollen competitive interactions and
how they vary across pollinator functional groups is not known. Evaluating
patterns and drivers of the pollen co-transport landscape and how these
vary across different pollinator groups is central to further our
understanding of floral evolution and co-flowering community
assembly. Here, we integrate information on the number and
identity of pollen grains on individual insect pollen loads with network
analyses to uncover novel pollen co-transport networks and how these vary
across pollinator functional groups (bees and bee flies). We further
evaluate differences in pollen load size, species composition, diversity
and phylogenetic diversity among insect groups and how these relate to
body size and gender. Pollen co-transport networks were diverse
and highly modular in bees, with groups of pollen species interacting more
often with each other on insect bodies. However, the number, identity and
frequency of competitors that pollen grains encounter on insect bodies
vary between some pollinator functional groups. Other aspects of pollen
loads such as their size, richness and phylogenetical diversity were
shaped by bee size or gender, with females carrying larger but less
phylogenetically diverse pollen loads than males. Synthesis: Our results
show that the number, identity and phylogenetic relatedness of pollen
competitors changes as pollen grains travel on the body of different
pollinators. As a result, pollinator groups impose vastly different
interaction landscapes during pollen transport, with so far unknown
consequences for plant reproductive success, floral evolution and
community assembly.