High species turnover and unique plant–pollinator interactions make a hyperdiverse mountain

1. We studied α- and β-diversity of pollinators, flowering plants, and plant–pollinator interactions along the altitudinal gradient of Mt. Olympus, a legendary mountain and biodiversity hotspot in Central Greece.
2.  We explored ten study sites located on the north-eastern slope of the mountain, from 327 to 2,596 m a.s.l. Insect surveys were conducted once a month using hand netting (years 2013, 2014, and 2016), and they were combined with recordings of flowering plant diversity (species richness and flower cover). We then calculated α- and β-diversity of pollinators, plants in flower, and plant–pollinator interactions, and explored their demographic response along the altitudinal gradient.
3.  Alpha‐diversity of pollinators, plants, and plant–pollinator interactions were altitude-dependent; α‐diversity of all pollinators, bees, non-bumblebee bees, bee flies, and butterflies showed linear declines with altitude, whereas those of hoverflies and bumblebees showed unimodal patterns. Beta-d..., , Please see the README document (\"README_Dataset_Olympus_Pollinators.txt\") and the accompanying published article: Minachilis, K., Kantsa, A., Devalez, J., Vujic, A., Pauly, A. & Petanidou, T. (2023). High species turnover and unique plant–pollinator interactions make a hyperdiverse mountain. Journal of Animal Ecology. DOI:10.1111/1365-2656.13898