Multiple studies have investigated the factors influencing species interactions within communities and their relative influence on other species (their interactive role), but little attention has been paid to understanding how and why species' interactive roles change across communities. Despite emerging evidence suggesting that climatic niche suitability (measured by distance to the niche centroid) may be a critical factor influencing variation in species' interactive roles within interaction networks, there are still limited studies evaluating this hypothesis, and none have focused on bats. In this study, we evaluated whether climatic niche suitability influences the interactive role (number of unique interactions and network connectivity) of phyllostomid bats in interaction networks across the American tropics. Of the 230 phyllostomid species, sufficient information was found for 20 species belonging to 11 genera. We found positive and statistically significant relationships between interactive roles and climatic suitability for five species (Artibeus fimbriatus, Artibeus obscurus, Rhinophylla pumilio, Uroderma bilobatum, and Vampyressa thyone), which means that in sites with greater climatic suitability these species interact with more plant species and have more connections within the network. On the other hand, and contrary to our hypothesis, a statistically significantly negative relationship was found for one species (Carollia perspicillata), so for this species its greatest interactive role with fruits was found in sites with low climatic suitability. These results show that, in the case of biological interactions, there is not always a positive correspondence with respect to the centroid of the species' ecological niche, as is the case with other aspects previously reported in the literature (e.g., abundance or genetic diversity). Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms that structure interaction networks and highlight the importance of climate as a driver of bat and plant community dynamics.

Consulta esta tesis en la clasificación: TMM20250011

Forma sugerida para citar

• Rodríguez Villa, Alejandro. (2025). Ecological niche structure and the interactive role of leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) within frugivory networks: another dimension of the niche centroid hypothesis [Tesis de maestría]. Instituto de Ecología, A.C.