Local and regional processes drive distance decay in structure in a spatial multilayer plant-pollinator network

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Community Ecology
• Network Ecology

Background:

• Spatial variation in species distribution and community structure is fundamental to community ecology.
• The impact of geographical distance on metacommunity structure is understudied.
• Understanding these spatial dynamics is crucial for conservation and ecological theory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how plant-pollinator community structure changes across geographical distances at a regional scale.
• To disentangle the local and regional processes driving these spatial patterns.
• To quantify distance decay in metacommunity structure using a multilayer network approach.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multilayer network to model plant-pollinator communities as a metacommunity in the Canary Islands.
• Applied multilayer modularity to quantify spatial partitioning and distance decay in community structure.
• Developed three null models to differentiate the roles of species turnover, interaction rewiring, and local factors.

Main Results:

• Observed a significant pattern of distance decay in metacommunity structure, with fewer shared modules between increasingly distant islands.
• Identified species turnover as the primary regional process driving this distance decay.
• Demonstrated that local interaction structure significantly influences regional community similarity.

Conclusions:

• Local factors governing species interactions at a local scale are key drivers of regional metacommunity structure and distance decay.
• Highlighted the intricate interplay between local and regional processes in shaping ecological communities across space.
• Proposed a novel methodological framework using multilayer networks and null models for analyzing spatial community ecology.