Floral offer and seasonality shape plant-pollinator networks in tropical gardens

The dataset contains all the data and R code used in the analyses presented in a manuscript currently under review, along with a 'README.docx' document describing the contents and purpose of each file.

These materials support a study investigating how pollinator communities and plant-pollinator networks responded to spatial and temporal floral offer (i.e., floral abundance and composition) across private and communal gardens in a tropical urbanised landscape (Martinique, Lesser Antilles). Using a motif-based approach, we found that both floral abundance and composition shaped plant-pollinator interaction networks. Specifically, floral abundance enhanced pollinator species richness and interaction occurrences, but this effect was modulated by human-driven patterns in floral composition characteristics (i.e., human use, life form, and origin status). Seasonality induced a phenological mismatch between floral resources and wild insect pollinators: garden floral resources were at their lowest in the wet season when wild insect pollinator occurrences peaked, leading to greater pollinator specialism and plant generalism. The western honey bee Apis mellifera – a super-generalist alien pollinator – hugely dominated interactions, producing networks characterized by higher insect generalism, especially in the dry season when wild pollinator abundance and diversity were lowest. Insects contributed more to species turnover in communal gardens, whereas plants contributed more in private gardens, with overall plant contribution to species turnover far exceeding that of insects. Together, these patterns underscore the role of human floral management in shaping the structure of these mutualistic communities. As urbanization expands, fostering diverse and seasonally reliable floral resources through inclusive gardening practices may be key to conserving pollinators and sustaining their ecological roles.