Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the temporal dynamic of bat-fruit interactions

- Bat-fruit interactions were assessed in relation to rainfall and air temperature.
- Bat-fruit interactions changes in response to seasonality of rainfall.
- Variations in fruit abundance affect network properties.
- Climate-driven changes in fruit phenology impact bat-fruit interactions.

Mutualistic interactions between animals and plants vary over time and space based on the abundance of fruits or animals and seasonality. Little is known about this temporal dynamic and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the structure of interaction networks. We evaluated changes in the structure of network interactions between bats and fruits in relation to variations in rainfall. Our results suggest that fruit abundance is the main variable responsible for temporal changes in network attributes, such as network size, connectance, and number of interactions. In the same way, temperature positively affected the abundance of fruits and bats. An increase in temperature and alterations in rainfall patterns, due to human induced climate change, can cause changes in phenological patterns and fruit production, with negative consequences to biodiversity maintenance, ecological interactions, and ecosystem functioning.