Data and R code for "Consistent plant-hummingbird linkage rules in transformed and mature forests"

Species interactions form the backbone of important ecosystem functions, such as pollination, and are shaped by ecological mechanisms known as linkage rules, including morphological trait-matching. While linkage rules have been extensively documented in many systems, very few studies have investigated the potential flexibility of these rules in a context of anthropogenic habitat transformation. Here we studied the effect of forest transformation on the taxonomic and functional composition of flowering plants, hummingbird pollinators, and trait-matching rules, along a wide elevation gradient in the tropical Andes of Ecuador. We analyzed plant-hummingbird communities to assess whether the influence of two types of trait-matching rules, complementarity and barrier, on species interactions varied between mature forests and those transformed by small-scale farming (1-4 ha forests clearing). We found that along the elevation gradient flower and bill lengths change systematically in mature forests (shorter at high elevations), but this relationship is weakened in transformed forests. However, linkage rules, trait complementarity and barrier, remained unaltered in both habitats. Our results suggest that morphological trait-matching between plants and hummingbirds are invariant to the extent of forest transformation studied here. Since the same linkage rules hold in mature and transformed forests, our findings support the idea that functional traits can be used to guide habitat restoration for hummingbirds by selecting flowering plants that match their bills morphologies.