Assessing deep-time mechanisms affecting the assembly of ecological networks is key to understanding biodiversity changes on broader time scales. We combined analyses of diversification rates with interaction network descriptors from 468 bird species belonging to 29 seed dispersal networks to show that bird species that contribute most to the network structure of plant–frugivore interactions belong to lineages that show higher macroevolutionary stability. This association is stronger in warmer, wetter, less seasonal environments. We infer that the macroevolutionary sorting mechanism acts through the regional pool of species by sorting species on the basis of the available relative differences in diversification rates, rather than absolute rates. Our results illustrate how the interplay between interaction patterns and diversification dynamics may shape the organization and long-term dynamics of ecological networks.

评估影响生态网络集合的深层机制是在更广泛的时间尺度上理解生物多样性变化的关键。我们将多样化速率的分析与来自29个种子传播网络的468种鸟类的相互作用网络描述符相结合，显示出对植物与果蝇相互作用的网络结构贡献最大的鸟类属于具有较高宏观进化稳定性的谱系。在温暖，潮湿，少季节的环境中，这种关联更强。我们推断，宏观进化分类机制是根据物种多样性的可用相对差异而非绝对速率对物种进行分类，从而在物种的区域性池中起作用。