A Continuum From Positive to Negative Interactions Drives Plant Species' Performance in a Diverse Community

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Community Ecology
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Determining the drivers of community dynamics is complex due to numerous species interactions.
• Plant performance is influenced by a variety of biotic interactions, including competition, herbivory, and pollination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the importance of plant (inter- and intra-specific), pollinator, and herbivore interactions on plant performance (viable seed production).
• To compare the efficacy of aggregate guild-level versus taxonomic-specific interaction terms in ecological models.

Main Methods:

• Employed a computational modeling approach integrated with extensive field survey data.
• Analyzed the influence of different interaction types (guild-level vs. taxonomic-specific) on plant reproductive success.

Main Results:

• A continuum of interactions, from positive to negative, was sufficient to describe plant performance.
• Guild-level effects dominated, with a few strong taxonomic-specific effects identified.
• Interactions with herbivores and intraspecific plants showed weak negative to positive effects, while interspecific plant interactions primarily indicated competition, and pollinators facilitated plant performance.

Conclusions:

• Modeling plant performance can be achieved effectively using guild-level interaction effects and select taxonomic-specific groups.
• This approach simplifies the analysis of complex ecological communities while maintaining accuracy in predicting plant performance variation over time.