The diel structure and robustness of plant-pollinator networks are driven by the shifting influences of plant traits

Authors

Montoya-Bustamante, S., van der Kooi, C. J., Grognuz, V., Fontaine, C., Knop, E.

Abstract

1. Species interactions are increasingly recognised as temporally dynamic. For plant-pollinator networks, evidence shows that interactions vary not only seasonally but also over the diel cycle. However, we still know little about what determines their diel structure, whether this structure is important for robustness to species loss, and which plant traits are associated with the roles plants play in this structure. These gaps are fundamental, because knowing what shapes networks over the diel cycle is required to predict the effects of global change drivers, such as light pollution, that may shift the timing of interactions. 2. Using 22 plant-pollinator networks sampled over morning, afternoon, and night, we addressed these gaps by applying a multilayer framework to characterise their diel structure, link it to robustness, and test which plant traits are associated with plant roles across diel periods (participation, versatility) and within them (centrality). 3. Diel structure was non-random: interactions were segregated among diel periods yet integrated through plants visited across the diel cycle. Networks were more robust to simulated species loss when interactions were on average more evenly distributed across periods and when plants were more strongly interconnected among periods, although this benefit diminished when both properties were high simultaneously. The association between plant traits and their roles shifted with the temporal scale. Across diel periods, structural traits were the stronger predictors: taller plants were visited more evenly across the diel cycle (higher participation), whereas shorter plants shared pollinators with plants from multiple periods (higher versatility), potentially mediating indirect effects among them. Within diel periods, floral visual cues became more influential, with achromatic contrast the most consistent predictor: at night, plants with brighter flowers were well visited within the period, sharing pollinators with other plants of that period (higher centrality). 4. These findings identify diel structure as a functional axis of network organisation and indicate that plant-pollinator networks are assembled hierarchically: structural traits set a baseline across the diel cycle, whereas light conditions determine which traits matter within periods, ultimately defining distinct temporal pathways vulnerable to global change.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 07 Aug 2026.

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