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Flowering plant species and their nectar-feeding vertebrates exemplify some of the most remarkable biotic interactions in the Neotropics. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, several species of birds (especially hummingbirds), bats, and non-flying mammals, as well as one lizard feed on nectar, often act as pollinators and contribute to seed output of flowering plants. We present a dataset containing information on flowering plants visited by nectar-feeding vertebrates and sampled at 166 localities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This dataset provides information on 1902 unique interactions among 515 species of flowering plants and 129 species of potential vertebrate pollinators and the patterns of species diversity across latitudes. All plant–vertebrate interactions compiled were recorded through direct observations of visits, and no inferences of pollinators based on floral syndromes were included. We also provide information on the most common plant traits used to understand the interactions between flowers and nectar-feeding vertebrates: plant growth form, corolla length, rate of nectar production per hour in bagged flowers, nectar concentration, flower color and shape, time of anthesis, presence or absence of perceptible fragrance by human, and flowering phenology as well as the plant’s threat status by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification. For the vertebrates, status of threat by IUCN classification, body mass, bill or rostrum size areprovided. Information on the frequency of visits and pollen deposition on the vertebrate’s body is provided from the original source when available. The highest number of unique interactions is recorded for birds (1771) followed by bats (110). For plants, Bromeliaceae contains the highest number of unique interactions (606), followed by Fabaceae (242) and Gesneriaceae (104). It is evident that there was geographical bias of the studies throughout the southeast of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and that most effort was directed to flower–hummingbird interactions. However, it reflects a worldwide tendency of more plants interacting with birds compared with other vertebrate species. The lack of similar protocols among studies to collect basic data limits the comparisons among areas and generalizations. Nevertheless, this dataset represents a notable effort to organize and highlight the importance of vertebrate pollinators in this hotspot of biodiversity on Earth and represents the data currently available. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or scientific events.

The Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) is a nectar‐feeding bat distributed seasonally between Mexico and the United States, and it has been declared an endangered species in both countries. Here, we describe for the first time the movement patterns and locations of foraging areas used by lactating females from the only known maternity roost in central Mexico. GPS loggers were placed on 29 lactating females, adhered to the interscapular area with short‐term surgical glue. We obtained movement tracks of at least one night for 21 different individuals. Movement patterns were identified using the first passage time segmentation method and classified into commutative and foraging flights. Bats made up to three trips on the same night, visiting between one and three foraging areas. On average, the total distance traveled was 61.72 km per night (minimum 23.11 km, maximum 160.55 km), and 37 foraging areas were identified, located between 13 and 40 km north of the roost, mainly in desert shrublands, followed by agricultural areas and temperate forests. In these places, they spent most of their time outside the roost (2.16 h mean ± 1.14 h SD), feeding on the resources available in an average area of 0.38 km2. Bats traveled long distances each night, using areas with abundant wild and human‐cultivated floral resources, reflecting the importance of integrating movement ecology for the design of conservation and habitat management strategies that ensure the availability of necessary resources for this species. RESUMEN El Murciélago Magueyero Mayor (Leptonycteris nivalis), es un murciélago nectarívoro que se distribuye estacionalmente entre México y Estados Unidos, la especie está declarada en peligro en ambos países. En este trabajo, describimos por primera vez los patrones de movimiento y las ubicaciones de las áreas de forrajeo de hembras lactantes en el único refugio de maternidad conocido en el centro de México. Se colocaron dispositivos GPS en 29 hembras lactantes, adheridos al área interescapular con pegamento quirúrgico de corta de duración. Se obtuvieron rutas de movimiento de al menos una noche para 21 individuos diferentes. Los patrones de movimiento se idenfiticaron utilizando el método de segmentación pasaje de primer tiempo y se clasificaron como vuelos conmutativos y de forrajeo. Los murciélagos realizaron hasta tres viajes en la misma noche y visitaron entre una a tres áreas de forrajeo. En promedio, la distancia total recorrida fue de 61.72 km por noche (mínimo 23.11 km, máximo 160.55 km). Se identificaron 37 áreas de forrajeo localizadas entre 13 y 40 km hacia el norte del refugio, principalmente en matorrales xerófilos, seguido de áreas agrícolas y bosques templados. En estos lugares, los murciélagos pasaron la mayor parte de su tiempo fuera del refugio (2.16 h mean ± 1.14 h SD), aliméntadose de los recursos disponibles en un área promedio de 0.38 km2. Los murciélagos recorren grandes distancias cada noche, utilizando áreas con abundantes recursos florales silvestres y cultivados, reflejando la importancia de integrar la ecología del movimiento en el diseño de estrategias de conservación y manejo de hábitat que aseguren la disponibilidad de los rercusos necesarios para la especie. We tracked 21 lactating females of a migratory and endangered nectar‐feeding bat using GPS devices, and analyzed their foraging movements in one of the most important maternity roosts for the conservation of the species. Bats foraged within 50 km from the roost, made up to three foraging trips on the same night, and visited multiple foraging grounds with an average area of 0.38 km2.

Most flower-visiting insects have evolved highly specialized morphological structures to facilitate nectar feeding. As a typical pollinator, the honey bee has specialized mouth parts comprised of a pair of galeae, a pair of labial palpi, and a glossa, to feed on the nectar by the feeding modes of lapping or sucking. To extensively elucidate the mechanism of a bee’s feeding, we should combine the investigations from glossa morphology, feeding behaviour, and mathematical models. This paper reviews the interdisciplinary research on nectar feeding behaviour of honey bees ranging from morphology, dynamics, and energy-saving strategies, which may not only reveal the mechanism of nectar feeding by honey bees but inspire engineered facilities for microfluidic transport.

Several Prosoeca (Nemestinidae) species use a greatly elongated proboscis to drink nectar from long-tubed flowers. We studied morphological adaptations for nectar uptake of Prosoecamarinusi that were endemic to the Northern Cape of South Africa. Our study site was a small isolated area of semi-natural habitat, where the long-tubed flowers of Babiana vanzijliae (Iridaceae) were the only nectar source of P. marinusi, and these flies were the only insects with matching proboscis. On average, the proboscis measured 32.63 ± 2.93 mm in length and less than 0.5 mm in diameter. The short labella at the tip are equipped with pseudotracheae that open at the apical margin, indicating that nectar is extracted out of the floral tube with closed labella. To quantify the available nectar resources, measurements of the nectar volume were taken before the flies were active and after observed flower visits. On average, an individual fly took up approximately 1 µL of nectar per flower visit. The measured nectar quantities and the flower geometry allowed estimations of the nectar heights and predictions of necessary proboscis lengths to access nectar in a range of flower tube lengths.

Phenology in animals is strongly influenced by seasonality that promotes changes in abundance of food resources and temperature. These changes may impose energetic constraints to organisms in certain seasons during the year, especially on those animals facing high energetic demands, such as nectarivorous bats. Seasonality in temperate forests could, therefore, promote migration of female nectarivorous bat to find warmer sites, thus enhancing breeding success. To test this hypothesis, we compared the proportion of females and the proportion of pregnant females of the nectarivorous bat Anoura geoffroyi, between months, in six different populations across temperate forests of Mexico. Bats were captured over a complete season cycle either with sweep or mist nets at the entrance or near their roosting caves, and their age, sex, and reproductive condition were recorded. We found that over 50% of bats present in the cave roosts across different populations in temperate forests of the Trans-Mexican Neovolcanic Belt of Mexico during the warmer and wetter months (April–September) were females, both pregnant and nonpregnant. In contrast, fewer than 30% of bats present in the roosting caves sampled in the colder and drier months (October–March) were females. In addition, we found that the temperature that favors the proportion of females at the studied sites was greater than 8°C. We concluded that seasonality affects sex ratio and phenology of A. geoffroyi in Mexican temperate forests. Our findings suggest females' migrations to lowland warmer sites to improve prenatal development.

Ecologically isolated habitats (e.g., oceanic islands) favor the appearance of small assemblages of pollinators, generally characterized by highly contrasted life modes (e.g., birds, lizards), and opportunistic nectarfeeding behavior. Different life modes should promote a low functional equivalence among pollinators, while opportunistic nectar feeding would lead to reduced and unpredictable pollination effectiveness (PE) compared to more specialized nectarivores. Dissecting the quantity (QNC) and quality (QLC) components of PE, we studied the opportunistic bird—lizard pollinator assemblage of Isoplexis canariensis from the Canary Islands to experimentally evaluate these potential characteristics. Birds and lizards showed different positions in the PE landscape, highlighting their low functional equivalence. Birds were more efficient than lizards due to higher visitation frequency (QNC). Adult lizards differed from juveniles in effecting a higher production of viable seeds (QLC). The disparate life modes of birds and lizards resulted in ample intra- and inter-specific PE variance. The main sources of PE variance were visitation frequency (both lizards and birds), number of flowers probed (lizards) and proportion of viable seeds resulting from a single visit (birds). The non-coincident locations of birds and lizards on the PE landscape indicate potential constraints for effectiveness. Variations in pollinator abundance can result in major effectiveness shifts only if QLC is relatively high, while changes in QLC would increase PE substantially only at high QNC. The low functional equivalence of impoverished, highly contrasted pollinator assemblages may be an early diagnostic signal for pollinator extinction potentially driving the collapse of mutualistic services.

Studies of the relationship between the composition of nectar and its consumers often focus on single or very few species, thus ignoring dynamics in diverse assemblages. Conversely, most documented patterns of nectarivore communities have not been linked to nectar quality measures. In a study of nectar-foraging ant communities in an Australian rain forest, we found that nectar source partitioning between consumers may be driven by two factors: (1) variation in nectar composition preferences mediated by taste and physiological requirements, and (2) severe asymmetrical competitive interactions within the community. Ant communities are strongly shaped by competitive hierarchies. When foraging for extrafloral and floral nectar sources, wound sap, and homopteran honeydew, competitively superior weaver-ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) showed a significant preference for nectar composition, whereas most other common community members were nonselective. Nectars frequently used by O. smaragdina were characterized by similar amino acid profiles and higher sugar and amino acid concentration. We hypothesize that, for nectar-consumer relationships, as for other interactions in complex communities, the interplay between species-specific physiological optima and context-dependent asymmetrical competition is essential to explain consumers' preferences and the dynamics of the system.

Invasive alien plants have major ecological effects, in particular in riparian habitats. While effects of alien tree invasions on riparian plants are well studied, effects on animals are less well understood. Invasive alien trees can have a positive effect by adding habitat and food sources, or have a negative effect, by replacing native food plants. Here we use birds as indicators to determine the impacts of an invasive Eucalyptus tree species in riparian areas of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa. Birds are an ideal study group because they are mobile, respond quickly to habitat changes and feed at different trophic levels. Fixed-point bird counts were done during winter and spring at near-pristine and Eucalyptus camaldulensis invaded riparian habitats. A total of 1142 birds from 44 species were recorded. Bird assemblages in invaded sites are almost a complete subset (24 species) of those in near-pristine areas (42 species). Invaded areas were missing 18 species and contained a total of 128 fewer individuals. This is due to declines in insectivores, frugivores, granivores, raptors and omnivores and the absence of nectarivores in invaded sites. From a bird’s perspective, the prioritisation of E. camaldulensis removal from the CFR’s river systems is justified, but whether bird species will return to cleared areas needs to be determined.

Mutualistic interactions, such as animal pollination, structure biodiversity in the Neotropics. In coastal montane garúa (fog) forests of Ecuador, 2 mass-blooming plants attract up to 17 species of nectar-feeding birds, especially hummingbirds. We describe avian guilds and behavior at the 2 mass bloomers and use mist-netting capture rates to test 3 predictions: (1) capture rates of territorial hummingbirds will increase with flower abundance on the mass bloomer they defend, (2) hummingbirds known to mainly use other flowers will show no change in capture rate during mass blooms, and (3) field observations of interspecific interactions will be reflected in capture rates. We statistically modeled capture rates of bird species, species richness, and Shannon Diversity Index in response to flower abundance on the 2 mass bloomers during 16 flowering seasons (1996–2013). Capture rates of 8 nectar-feeding species increased significantly with increased abundance of white-flowered Psychotria hazenii blooms, while only one species, Speckled Hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys), increased significantly in response to red-flowered Stenostephanus clarkii flower abundance, and aggressively defended these flower patches. Violet-bellied Hummingbird (Damophila julie) showed the strongest capture rate response to increased abundance of P. hazenii flowers, and was the dominant territorial hummingbird around these shrubs. Endangered Esmeraldas Woodstars (Chaetocercus berlepschi) and Little Woodstars (Chaetocercus bombus) visited both mass bloomers, but had a statistically significant increase only with P. hazenii highest flower abundance suggesting that restoration to recover endangered woodstars will benefit more from plantings of P. hazenii than S. clarkii. We conclude that flower abundance and defendability structure avian pollinator networks at these mass bloomers more so than nectar quality, quantity, or secretion rates, all of which were similar.

Sensory systems define an animal's capacity for perception and can evolve to promote survival in new environmental niches. We have uncovered a noncanonical mechanism for sweet taste perception that evolved in hummingbirds since their divergence from insectivorous swifts, their closest relatives. We observed the widespread absence in birds of an essential subunit (T1R2) of the only known vertebrate sweet receptor, raising questions about how specialized nectar feeders such as hummingbirds sense sugars. Receptor expression studies revealed that the ancestral umami receptor (the T1R1-T1R3 heterodimer) was repurposed in hummingbirds to function as a carbohydrate receptor. Furthermore, the molecular recognition properties of T1R1-T1R3 guided taste behavior in captive and wild hummingbirds. We propose that changing taste receptor function enabled hummingbirds to perceive and use nectar, facilitating the massive radiation of hummingbird species.