Functional niche attributes shape species interaction roles in ecological networks
- 1Department of Forest Nature Conservation, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Abstract
Identifying how species interact in ecological networks is key to understanding species' contributions to ecosystem functioning, but can be difficult to establish in species-rich communities. Functional niches, which capture broader ecological strategies, are often easier to assess and could help approximate species' interaction roles. We tested this by integrating species interaction and leaf functional trait data of tree species and leaf-associated interaction types from a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment. We found that identity, variability, and similarities of functional niches shaped corresponding aspects of interaction roles. Interestingly, however, this association inversed in the case of functional niche variability, which decreased instead of increased the variability of species interactions. This suggests a potential trade-off between processes that determine variability in functional and interaction space. Furthermore, effects were not constrained within aspects, with similarities of interactions being particularly responsive to most tested niche aspects, indicating that interaction-based competition among plants is particularly sensitive to functional niche differences. Moreover, many effects of functional niches depended on tree species biomass and tree species richness, highlighting the importance of the larger ecological context for determining species interaction roles. Together, our findings show that species' interaction roles, while clearly altered by, are not simply a consequence of functional niches. Instead, interaction roles integrate multiple aspects of functional niches depending on species performances and community composition and can therefore be crucial for anticipating ecosystem change.
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BibTeX
@misc{albert2026functional,
title = {{Functional niche attributes shape species interaction roles in ecological networks}},
author = {G. Albert and A. Davrinche and H. Bruelheide and F. Fornoff and S. Haider and W. Haerdtle and L. Jiang and A.-M. Klein and Y. Li and X. Liu and K. Ma and G. von Oheimb and T. Pross and M. Staab and M.-Q. Wang and P. Wang and X. Yang and C.-D. Zhu and A. Schuldt},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.13.751296},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.13.751296v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Functional niche attributes shape species interaction roles in ecological networks
AU - G. Albert
AU - A. Davrinche
AU - H. Bruelheide
AU - F. Fornoff
AU - S. Haider
AU - W. Haerdtle
AU - L. Jiang
AU - A.-M. Klein
AU - Y. Li
AU - X. Liu
AU - K. Ma
AU - G. von Oheimb
AU - T. Pross
AU - M. Staab
AU - M.-Q. Wang
AU - P. Wang
AU - X. Yang
AU - C.-D. Zhu
AU - A. Schuldt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/13
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.13.751296
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.13.751296v1
AB - Identifying how species interact in ecological networks is key to understanding species' contributions to ecosystem functioning, but can be difficult to establish in species-rich communities. Functional niches, which capture broader ecological strategies, are often easier to assess and could help approximate species' interaction roles. We tested this by integrating species interaction and leaf functional trait data of tree species and leaf-associated interaction types from a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment. We found that identity, variability, and similarities of functional niches shaped corresponding aspects of interaction roles. Interestingly, however, this association inversed in the case of functional niche variability, which decreased instead of increased the variability of species interactions. This suggests a potential trade-off between processes that determine variability in functional and interaction space. Furthermore, effects were not constrained within aspects, with similarities of interactions being particularly responsive to most tested niche aspects, indicating that interaction-based competition among plants is particularly sensitive to functional niche differences. Moreover, many effects of functional niches depended on tree species biomass and tree species richness, highlighting the importance of the larger ecological context for determining species interaction roles. Together, our findings show that species' interaction roles, while clearly altered by, are not simply a consequence of functional niches. Instead, interaction roles integrate multiple aspects of functional niches depending on species performances and community composition and can therefore be crucial for anticipating ecosystem change.
ER -