Plant-Pollinator Interaction Rewiring Boosts Year-to-Year Community Persistence

Despite widespread recognition of the dynamic nature of ecological interactions, the consequences for community persistence of the observed year-to-year changes in species interactions have remained overlooked. Our research bridges this gap, leveraging a uniquely high-quality dataset spanning 8 years and 12 independent sites-offering unparalleled resolution to examine plant-pollinator interactions. Here, we characterise year-to-year variation in plant-pollinator interactions and compare their structural stability (a robust theoretical measure describing species persistence) with that of null models simulating random rewiring. We discover that although most interaction changes (80%) are caused by species turnover, it is the temporal rewiring among permanent species that primarily enhances pollinator persistence. This interaction rewiring is not random and effectively boosts pollinator persistence despite being primarily determined by changes in the phenologies and abundances of the permanent pollinator species. While not fully optimised, these adaptive responses underscore the vital role of rewiring in fostering ecological stability amid a changing world.