ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2022
Mixed-species bird flocks re-assemble interspecific associations across an elevational gradient.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Plant community data along elevational gradients in China's 17 mountains.Scientific data · 2025Article
- How does species rarity influence the functional diversity and resilience along the successional pathway in heterogeneous karst forests?Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Annual Temperature Variation, Not Number of Predators, Predicts Variation in Foraging Group Size Among Pigeons Worldwide.Biology · 2025Article
- Neotropical mixed-species bird flocks in a community context.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Identifying the social context of single- and mixed-species group formation in large African herbivores.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Network structure of avian mixed-species flocks decays with elevation and latitude across the Andes.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Can convergence in mixed-species flocks lead to evolutionary divergence? Evidence for and methods to test this hypothesis.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Mixed-species bird flocks re-assemble interspecific associations across an elevational gradient.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding how non-trophic social systems respond to environmental gradients is still a challenge in animal ecology, particularly in comparing changes in species composition to changes in interspecific interactions. Here, we combined long-term monitoring of mixed-species bird flocks, data on participating species' evolutionary history and traits, to test how elevation affected community assemblages and interspecific interactions in flock social networks. Elevation primarily affected flocks through reassembling interspecific associations rather than modifying community assemblages. Specifically, flock networks at higher elevations (compared to low elevations) had stronger interspecific associations (larger average weighted degree), network connectivity (enhanced network density) and fewer subnetworks. A phylogenetic and functional perspective revealed that associations between similar species weakened, whereas connections between dissimilar and/or random species were unchanged or strengthened with elevation. Likewise, network assortativity for the traits of vertical stratum and breeding period declined with elevation. The overall pattern is a change from modular networks in the lowlands, where species join flocks with other species that have matching traits, to a more open, random system at high elevations. Collectively, this rewiring of interspecific networks across elevational gradients imparts network stability and resiliency and makes mixed-species flocks less sensitive to local extinctions caused by harsh environments.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.