Seeing through the static: The temporal dimension of plant–animal
mutualistic interactions
- Paul CaraDonna
, - Laura Burkle,
- Benjamin Schwarz,
- Julian Resasco
, - Tiffany Knight,
- Gita Benadi,
- Nico Bluthgen
, - Carsten Dormann
, - Qiang Fang,
- Jochen Fründ,
- Benoit Gauzens
, - Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury,
- Rachael Winfree,
- Diego Vazquez
![](https://d197for5662m48.cloudfront.net/assets/icons/omniauth/orcid-ca37582cd91a671ed5cec57770e0e96c01b4b79b8b5b75d8598fc1ddac18c974.svg)
Tiffany Knight
, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Author ProfileAbstract
Most studies of plant--animal mutualistic networks have been temporally
static. This approach has revealed many general patterns in the
structure of complex webs of mutualistic interactions, but limits our
ability to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that
shape these networks, and to predict the consequences of natural and
human-driven disturbance on species interactions. The growing
availability of temporally explicit data is allowing ecologists to move
beyond this static perspective. We review the growing literature dealing
with temporal dynamics in plant--animal mutualistic networks including
pollination, seed dispersal and ant defence mutualisms. We identify
general patterns of temporal variation in these networks across temporal
scales. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying variation in
interactions, ranging from behavioural and physiological processes at
the narrowest temporal scales to ecological and evolutionary processes
operating over much broader temporal scales. We conclude by discussing
priorities for future research, including an improved understanding of
the abiotic and biotic factors driving temporal network change, and
further development and refinement of analytical tools. Our review
highlights the key role of the importance of considering the temporal
dimension for our understanding of the ecology and evolution of complex
webs of mutualistic interactions.20 May 2020Submitted to Ecology Letters 20 May 2020Submission Checks Completed
20 May 2020Assigned to Editor
25 May 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
03 Jul 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Jul 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Major
25 Aug 20201st Revision Received
25 Aug 2020Submission Checks Completed
25 Aug 2020Assigned to Editor
26 Aug 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
16 Sep 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Sep 2020Editorial Decision: Accept
Jan 2021Published in Ecology Letters volume 24 issue 1 on pages 149-161. 10.1111/ele.13623