Understanding the consequences of species loss for the functional capabilities of ecosystems is critical given on-going global change. The role a species plays in a community has been demonstrated to be dynamic and dependent on species composition. However, what remains unresolved is how species diversity modulates these dynamic functional roles and what the consequences are at the community level. To fill this gap, this project is currently evaluating structural changes in plant-hummingbird interaction networks within communities harboring resident and migratory hummingbird species along a latitudinal gradient of increasing species diversity from central Mexico to Alaska. The project will survey plant and hummingbird communities in the presence and absence of the migratory species to evaluate changes in species functional roles and community structure.
