Integrating floral trait and flowering time distribution patterns help reveal a more dynamic nature of co-flowering community assembly processes

Species’ floral traits and flowering times are known to be the major drivers of pollinator-mediated plant-plant interactions in diverse co-flowering communities. However, their simultaneous role in mediating plant community assembly and plant-pollinator interactions is still poorly understood. Since not all species flower at the same time, inference of facilitative and competitive interactions based on floral trait distribution patterns should account for fine phenological structure (intensity of flowering overlap) within co-flowering communities. Such an approach may also help reveal the simultaneous action of competitive and facilitative interactions in structuring co-flowering communities.

Here we used modularity within a co-flowering network context, as a novel approach to detect convergent and/or over-dispersed patterns in floral trait distribution and pollinator sharing. Specifically, we evaluate differences in floral trait and pollinator distribution patterns within (high temp...