Node-by-node disassembly of a mutualistic interaction web driven by species introductions.
Interaction webs summarize the diverse interactions among species in communities. The addition or loss of particular species and the alteration of key interactions can lead to the disassembly of the entire interaction web, although the nontrophic effects of species loss on interaction webs are poorly understood. We took advantage of ongoing invasions by a suite of exotic species to examine their impact in terms of the disassembly of an interaction web in Patagonia, Argentina. We found that the reduction of one species (a host of a keystone mistletoe species) resulted in diverse indirect effects that led to the disassembly of an interaction web through the loss of the mistletoe, two key seed-dispersers (a marsupial and a bird), and a pollinator (hummingbird). Our results demonstrate that the gains and losses of species are both consequences and drivers of global change that can lead to underappreciated cascading coextinctions through the disruption of mutualisms.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996.
Mariano A
MA
Rodriguez-Cabal
M Noelia
MN
Barrios-Garcia
Guillermo C
GC
Amico
Marcelo A
MA
Aizen
Nathan J
NJ
Sanders
D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D058865:Introduced Species; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D014784:Mistletoe / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology
biological invasions; community disassembly; herbivory; pollination; seed dispersal