Dominant pollinators drive non-random community assembly and shared flower colour patterns in daisy communities

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Plant Biology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Pollination is crucial for plant persistence and community assembly.
• Flower color patterns are key traits influencing plant-pollinator interactions.
• Understanding floral trait assembly is vital for community ecology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the processes structuring flower color assembly patterns in South African Asteraceae communities.
• To determine the role of pollinators in shaping floral trait diversity and community structure.
• To test for non-random assembly (clustering or overdispersion) of flower color patterns.

Main Methods:

• Categorized flower color patterns (CPCs) using pollinator vision models.
• Applied null modeling to assess CPC clustering and overdispersion.
• Constructed pollinator interaction networks to link CPC assembly to pollinator preferences.

Main Results:

• Flower color patterns (CPCs) were unevenly distributed, with some CPCs showing selective advantages.
• Clustering of CPCs was more common than overdispersion in daisy communities.
• Dominant pollinators in communities selectively interacted with overrepresented CPCs, indicating pollinator preference drives assembly.

Conclusions:

• Pollinators demonstrably influence plant community assembly through non-random flower color pattern selection.
• Pollinator sharing benefits can outweigh costs, leading to clustered CPC assembly.
• Complex daisy color patterns represent pollination syndromes linked to specific fly pollinators, challenging generalized pollination assumptions.