1. The role of nocturnal moths within plant-pollinator networks is
poorly understood but could be important in the context of declining biodiversity
and the ecosystem services they provide.
2. For the first time, this study examined the role of moths as pollen vectors
in the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot. Light traps were used to sample
moths in SW Portugal in 2010. The pollen on moth head parts was collected,
identified, and counted to construct a nocturnal pollen-transfer and flower-visitor
network.
3. A total of 257 moths belonging to 95 species were captured in 11 trapping
sessions in 2010; 196 moths (76%) carried pollen and the total number of pollen
grains counted and identified was 9064.
4. The pollen-transfer network exhibited a high degree of selectivity (H20) but
low robustness when the most-to-least connected plants were made extinct in
the network. The flower-visitor network (based on the incidences of interactions
by individual moths), however, exhibited high linkage density and was generally
more robust to simulated plant or moth extinction.
5. Including nocturnal moths in plant–pollinator networks will provide a better
understanding of their robustness to species extinctions due to environmental
change as well as the impacts on ecosystem structure and functioning.
Nocturnal pollen–transfer networks could be developed for identifying key species
for targeted conservation
