Dzekashu, Fairo F.Pirk, Christian Walter WernerYusuf, Abdullahi AhmedClassen, AliceKiatoko, NkobaSteffan-Dewenter, IngolfPeters, Marcell K.Lattorff, H. Michael G.2024-05-202024-05-202023-05Dzekashu, F.F., Pirk, C.W.W., Yusuf, A.A., Classen, A., Kiatoko, N., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Peters, M.K. & Lattorff, H.M.G. (2023). Seasonal and elevational changes of plant-pollinator interaction networks in East African mountains. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10060. https://DOI.org/10.1002/ece3.10060.2045-7758 (online)10.1002/ece3.1006010.25403/UPresearch data/19763545http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96077DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : All data supporting this study are available from Figshare: https://DOI.org/10.25403/UPresearch data/19763545 (Dzekashu et al., 2023).Across an elevation gradient, several biotic and abiotic factors influence community assemblages of interacting species leading to a shift in species distribution, functioning, and ultimately topologies of species interaction networks. However, empirical studies of climate-driven seasonal and elevational changes in plant-pollinator networks are rare, particularly in tropical ecosystems. Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspots in Kenya, East Africa. We recorded plant-bee interactions at 50 study sites between 515 and 2600 m asl for a full year, following all four major seasons in this region. We analysed elevational and seasonal network patterns using generalised additive models (GAMs) and quantified the influence of climate, floral resource availability, and bee diversity on network structures using a multimodel inference framework. We recorded 16,741 interactions among 186 bee and 314 plant species of which a majority involved interactions with honeybees. We found that nestedness and bee species specialisation of plant-bee interaction networks increased with elevation and that the relationships were consistent in the cold-dry and warm-wet seasons respectively. Link rewiring increased in the warm-wet season with elevation but remained indifferent in the cold-dry seasons. Conversely, network modularity and plant species were more specialised at lower elevations during both the cold-dry and warm-wet seasons, with higher values observed during the warm-wet seasons. We found flower and bee species diversity and abundance rather than direct effects of climate variables to best predict modularity, specialisation, and link rewiring in plant-bee-interaction networks. This study highlights changes in network architectures with elevation suggesting a potential sensitivity of plant-bee interactions with climate warming and changes in rainfall patterns along the elevation gradients of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot.en© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.BeesBiodiversityClimate changeEastern afromontane biodiversity hotspotEcosystem servicesElevation gradientsInsect conservationNetwork robustnessPollinationTropical mountainsSDG-15: Life on landArticle