Meeting Abstract
Plant–Pollinator (p–p) networks describe ecological services essential to ecosystem function. Because climate change poses severe threats, especially where environmental extremes will be intensified, we studied a p-p network in a post-harvest, agricultural field on the coastal plain of Lesvos Island where low-lying coastal habitats are susceptible to thermal stress and saltwater intrusion. P-p network studies reveal species relationships in communities useful to conservation efforts. We conducted field surveys in July 2018 at two transects within 100 M of the shoreline. We collected insect pollinators and recorded p–p combinations daily. Insects and plants were identified to lowest taxon and analyzed in a network. The network consisted of 57 pollinator and 12 plant species distributed within six modules, i.e. groups of interacting species that are more tightly connected to each other than with the rest of the network. Pollinator services indices were generally low to moderate, with the most variation in the Diptera and Hymenoptera. Modules within the p–p network were distinct. Most pollinators in modules were peripherals, i.e. extreme specialists (86.0%), with some (12.3%) connectors (species connecting modules), only one module hub (1.7%). No pollinator was a network hub. The pollinator community seemed to be mainly comprised of generalist species that interacted with many other species in the community and are not tightly linked in a strong modularity structure.
