Climate drives plant–pollinator interactions even along small-scale climate gradients: the case of the Aegean

Plant–pollinator network structure is the outcome of ecological and evolutionary processes, and although the importance of environmental factors is beyond doubt, our knowledge of how abiotic factors (e.g. climate) shape plant–pollinator networks remains limited. This knowledge gap is critical, as climate change poses a major threat to ecosystems, especially in the Mediterranean. This study focuses on one of the hottest parts of the Mediterranean Basin, the Aegean Archipelago, Greece, and examines how climate affects species richness and network properties (e.g. nestedness, modularity and specialisation) – either directly or indirectly through species richness.
We sampled systematically 39 local plant–pollinator networks on eight islands along a north–south climate gradient in the Aegean. All plant–pollinator material used in the analyses was collected in 2012 and identified to species level. Aspects of climate used in the models were expressed as average conditions (mean temperature and annual precipitation) or as seasonal variability (isothermality and temperature seasonality).
Structural properties of plant–pollinator networks were found to be strongly associated with species richness, which was in turn affected by climate, implying that pollination network structure is driven indirectly by climate. In addition, climate had a direct effect on network structure, especially on modularity and specialisation. Different aspects of climate affected network properties in different ways.
We highlight that even in a relatively narrow latitudinal gradient, such as within the Aegean Sea region, climate constitutes a significant driver of plant–pollinator interactions.