Abstract

LARA-RODRIGUEZ, Nubia Zoe et al. Hummingbird-plant mutualistic networks in central-eastern Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2012, vol.83, n.2, pp.569-577. ISSN 2007-8706.

Several studies report that mutualistic interactions have molded global biodiversity. However, in the past, it was difficult to find structural patterns in them when they were assessed from a community perspective. Mutualistic networks approach has been proposed as a new method to represent and study interactions. It allows to describe structural patterns in the interactions at community level. Here, we describe and assess 4 pollination sub networks of hummingbird-plant communities located in several landscapes of Central-eastern Mexico. The interactions recorded in the communities show a nested structural pattern, similar to the reported in other networks. It has been suggested that such characteristics, together with others described for this kind of networks, can promote the species coexistence in a community, and in turn have ecological and conservational implications to the hummingbird and plants communities of Central-eastern Mexico.

Keywords : mutualistic networks; interactions; hummingbirds; pollination; conservation.

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