Morphological and phenological traits are key determinants of the structure of mutualistic networks. Both traits create forbidden links, but phenological traits can also decouple interaction in time. While such difference likely affects the indirect effects among species and consequently network persistence, it remains overlooked. Here, using a dynamic model, we show that networks structured by phenology favour facilitation over competition within guilds of pollinators and plants, thereby increasing network persistence, while the contrary holds for networks structured by morphology. We further show that such buffering of competition by phenological traits mostly beneficiate to specialists, the most vulnerable species otherwise, which propagate the most positive effects within guilds and promote nestedness. Our results indicate that beyond trophic mismatch, phenological shifts such as those induced by climate change are likely to affect indirect effects within mutualistic assemblages, with consequences for biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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物候特征通过促进促进促进互惠网络的持久性

形态和物候特征是互惠网络结构的关键决定因素。这两个特征都会产生禁止联系，但物候特征也可以及时解耦交互。虽然这种差异可能会影响物种之间的间接影响，从而影响网络的持久性，但它仍然被忽视。在这里，我们使用动态模型表明，由物候学构建的网络有利于促进传粉媒介和植物行会内的竞争，从而增加网络的持久性，而由形态学构建的网络则相反。我们进一步表明，通过物候特征对竞争的这种缓冲主要有利于专家，否则是最脆弱的物种，它们在行会内传播最积极的影响并促进嵌套。