Data from: Accelerating homogenization of the global plant–frugivore meta-network

Introductions of species by humans are causing the homogenization of
species composition across biogeographic barriers. The ecological and
evolutionary consequences of introduced species derive from their
effects on networks of species interactions, but we lack a
quantitative understanding of the impacts of introduced species on
ecological networks and their biogeographic patterns globally. Here we
address this data gap by analysing mutualistic seed-dispersal interactions
from 410 local networks, encompassing 24,455 unique pairwise interactions
between 1,631 animal and 3,208 plant species. We show that species
introductions reduce biogeographic compartmentalization of the global
meta-network, in which nodes are species and links are interactions
observed within any local network. This homogenizing effect extends across
spatial scales, decreasing beta diversity among local networks and
modularity within networks. The prevalence of introduced interactions is
directly related to human environmental modification and is accelerating,
having increased sevenfold over the past 75 years. These dynamics alter
the coevolutionary environments that mutualists experience, and we find
that introduced species disproportionately interact with other introduced
species. These processes are likely to amplify biotic homogenization in
future ecosystems and may reduce the resilience of
ecosystems by allowing perturbations to propagate more quickly
and exposing disparate ecosystems to similar drivers. Our results
highlight the importance of managing the increasing homogenization of
ecological complexity.