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Tree hollows are complex microhabitats in which a variety of abiotic and biotic factors shape the community assembly of saproxylic insects. Detecting non-random species co-occurrence patterns is a fundamental goal in ecology in order to understand the assembly mechanisms of communities. We study association patterns of species of Coleoptera and Diptera (Syrphidae), belonging to different trophic guilds, on 72 tree hollows at a local and regional scale in three protected areas in Mediterranean forests using a fixed-fixed null model. Our matrixlevel analysis shows a tendency for segregation in species association (species exclusion) at the regional and site levels. However, the high complexity of tree-hollow habitats, offering different resources for a more or less specialized fauna, makes it difficult to prove competition interactions. Indeed, pairwise analysis shows a dominance of non-random aggregation patterns (species coexistence) at the local and regional levels. Both aggregation and segregation of non-random patterns were more common among species from different trophic guilds than within the same guilds, with predators being a common denominator for a high percentage of the inter-guild pairs. Our results suggest that predation and facilitation interactions, together with habitat segregation, are the main factors shaping tree-hollow assemblages, while competition seems to be less important. We conclude that species interactions take an important part of the process of assemblage structuration and special attention should be paid to 'ecosystem engineers' and threatened species in the conservation of tree hollow assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Functional groups of species interact and coevolve in space and time, forming complex networks of interacting species. A long-term study of temporal variation of an ant–plant network is presented with the aims of: (1) depicting its structural changes over a 20-year period; (2) detailing temporal variation in network topology, as revealed by nestedness and modularity analysis and other parameters (i.e. connectance, niche overlap); and (3) identifying long-term turnover in taxonomic structure (i.e. switches in ant resource use or plant visitor assemblages according to taxa). Methods Fieldwork was carried out at La Mancha, Mexico, and ant–plant interactions were observed between 1989 and 1991, between 1998 and 2000, and between May 2010 and 2011. Occurrences of ants on extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) were recorded. The resulting ant–plant networks were constructed from qualitative presence–absence data determined by a species–species matrix defined by the frequency of occurrence of each pairwise ant–plant interaction. Key Results Network variation across time was stable and a persistent nested structure may have contributed to the maintenance of resilient and species-rich communities. Modularity was lower than expected, especially in the most recent networks, indicating that the community exhibited high overlap among interacting species (e.g. few species were hubs in the more recent network, being partly responsible for the nested pattern). Structurally, the connections created among modules by super-generalists gave cohesion to subsets of species that otherwise would remain unconnected. This may have allowed an increasing cascade-effect of evolutionary events among modules. Mutualistic ant–plant interactions were structured 20 years ago mainly by the subdominant nectarivorous ant species Camponotus planatus and Crematogaster brevispinosa, which monopolized the best extrafloral nectar resources and out-competed other species with broader feeding habits. Through time, these ants, which are still present, lost their position as network hubs and diminished in their importance in structuring the network; simultaneously, plants gained in importance. Conclusions The long-term network analysis reveals a decrease in attended plant species richness, a notable increase in plant species participation from 1990 to 2010 (sustained by less plant taxonomic similarity in the older 1990 network), an increase in the number of ant species and a diminishing dominance of super-generalist ants. The structure of the community has remained highly nested and connected with low modularity, suggesting overall a more participative, homogeneous, cohesive interaction network. Although previous studies have suggested that interactions between ants and EFN-bearing plants are susceptible to seasonality, abiotic factors and perturbation, this cohesive structure appears to be the key for biodiversity and community maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We analysed the effect of a hurricane on a plant–ant network and on vegetation cover. Plant cover was sampled using linear sampling in several vegetation types: deciduous forest, a dry forest, sand dune pioneers, sand dune scrub, ecotone of freshwater marsh, deciduous forest and dune scrub, and mangrove forest. We sampled ant–plant interactions and vegetation cover before and after Hurricane Karl hitting (September 2010) the central coast of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The pre-hurricane network consisted of 16 plant and 25 ant species in 52 associations. The post-hurricane network consisted of 17 plant and 20 ant species in 56 associations. We found a significant decrease in the total linear cover of EFN-bearing plants between October 2009 (646 m, no hurricane effect) and October 2010 (393 m, after hurricane Karl) (total sample length 2025 m). Both networks were significantly nested (0.999 and 0.973, P < 0.001), suggesting that network topology remained similar. Our results show changes in several network characteristics and species proportions. The number of plant species that contributed to nestedness vs. idiosyncratic species did not differ significantly in the pre-hurricane network, while the number of plant species that contributed to nestedness vs. idiosyncratic species did differ significantly in the post-hurricane network. The number of ant species that contributed to nestedness vs. idiosyncratic species differed significantly in the pre-hurricane network, and also in the post-hurricane network. Differences in nestedness contributions of species before and after the hurricane reflect an alteration from a generalized, highly nested, more stable pre-disturbance network, to a more low-degree or specialized network (i.e. fewer interactions among generalist species, those species with the most associations). The maintenance of important core components of the network after a huge disturbance, suggests a short-term resilience typical of mutualistic networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]