Interaction frequency as a surrogate for the total effect of animal mutualists on plants
We evaluate whether species interaction frequency can be used as a surrogate for the total effect of a species on another. Because interaction frequency is easier to estimate than per-interaction effect, using interaction frequency as a surrogate of total effect could facilitate the large-scale anal...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2005 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/40567 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/40567 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Abundance effectiveness interaction frequency interaction networks interaction strength Mutualism plant–animal interactions plant reproduction Pollination Seed dispersal |
| Sumario: | We evaluate whether species interaction frequency can be used as a surrogate for the total effect of a species on another. Because interaction frequency is easier to estimate than per-interaction effect, using interaction frequency as a surrogate of total effect could facilitate the large-scale analysis of quantitative patterns of species-rich interaction networks. We show mathematically that the correlation between interaction frequency (I ) and total effect (T ) becomes more strongly positive the greater the variation of I relative to the variation of per-interaction effect (P ) and the greater the correlation between I and P. A meta-analysis using data on I, P and T for animal pollinators and seed dispersers visiting plants shows a generally strong, positive relationship between T and I, in spite of no general relationship between P and I. Thus, frequent animal mutualists usually contribute the most to plant reproduction, regardless of their effectiveness on a per-interaction basis. |
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