Plant-hummingbird interactions, floral abundance and floral traits for three altitudinal gradients in the Americas

Plant-animal interactions result in many ecosystem services, such as pollination. In the western hemisphere, and especially the Neotropics, hummingbirds are important pollinators for thousands of plant species, yet there is much to be learned about the spatial and temporal variation in mechanisms influencing these interactions. We collected an extensive dataset from 39 sites across elevation gradients spanning 4.7 to 3,522 meters above sea level in three regions, the Pacific slope of the Talamanca mountain range in central-southern Costa Rica, the Chocó-Andean region of northwestern Pichincha province in Ecuador, and the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. These regions have very different biogeographic histories to uncover general patterns of interactions and mechanisms influencing these interactions. Data on flower abundance and plant-hummingbird interactions were gathered monthly for 1.5 to 2 years along 1.5 km transects situated along an elevation gradient in each country during 2017 and 2024. Trait data for flowers was also measured. This effort resulted in 95,825 interactions between 713 plants and 79 hummingbird species, and also 873 interactions with another 12 bird species in Ecuador. These data are being used to develop a predictive framework on species interactions necessary to understand and conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. These data also provide detailed information on plants important for hummingbird conservation which have, for example, been used to guide restoration projects.动植物互作可催生多种生态系统服务，传粉服务即为其中典型代表。在西半球，尤其是新热带界（Neotropics），蜂鸟是数千种植物的核心传粉者，但目前学界对调控此类互作的机制在空间与时间维度上的变异仍存在大量认知空白。本研究团队从三大区域的39个样点收集了海量数据集，这些样点沿海拔梯度分布，海拔跨度为4.7米至3522米。三大区域分别为哥斯达黎加中南部塔拉曼卡山脉（Talamanca mountain range）的太平洋坡、厄瓜多尔皮钦查省（Pichincha province）西北部的乔科-安第斯（Chocó-Andean）区域，以及巴西东南部的大西洋森林（Atlantic Forest）。上述区域生物地理背景差异显著，可为揭示动植物互作的通用模式及调控此类互作的内在机制提供绝佳研究场景。2017年至2024年间，研究团队沿各国境内的海拔梯度设置1.5公里样带，每月开展野外采样，持续时长为1.5至2年，采集内容涵盖花朵丰度及植物-蜂鸟互作相关数据，同时还测定了花朵的功能性状（trait）数据。本次采样共记录到95825次植物与蜂鸟的互作事件，涉及713种植物及79种蜂鸟；此外在厄瓜多尔境内还记录到12种其他鸟类参与的873次互作事件。本数据集目前正被用于构建物种互作的预测框架，以此助力理解生物多样性与生态系统服务的维持机制，并为其保护提供科学支撑。此外，本数据集还提供了与蜂鸟保护密切相关的植物类群的详细信息，相关成果已被应用于指导生态修复工程等实践工作。