Environmental variability modulates trait matching, indirect effects, and resilience in adaptive mutualistic networks

Environmental variability modulates trait matching, indirect effects, and resilience in adaptive mutualistic networks | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 28 January 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Environmental variability modulates trait matching, indirect effects, and resilience in adaptive mutualistic networks Authors : Qi Ma 0000-0002-8088-5878 , Liangliang Li , Min Su 0000-0002-0231-878X [email protected] , and Cang Hui Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176962157.75704043/v1 142 views 101 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Environmental variability is ubiquitous, yet how its magnitude, temporal autocorrelation, and synchrony across species shape the stability and trajectories of eco-evolutionary dynamics in adaptive ecological networks remain poorly understood. Here, we develop an adaptive mutualistic network model to examine how different features of environmental variability, together with ecologically mediated indirect effects, jointly shape network resilience and patterns of trait matching. Environmental variability generally reduces network resilience while increasing both trait mismatching and trait heterogeneity. Indirect effects enhance resilience and promote tighter trait matching both among interacting species and between species and their environment by stabilising abundance dynamics and indirectly constraining selection pressures. These effects depend on network position: peripheral species experience stronger indirect effects, leading to tighter between-species trait matching but weaker alignment with environmental optima, whereas core species experience weaker indirect effects, reduced interspecific trait matching, but stronger alignment between species traits and environmental optima. Increasing temporal autocorrelation and greater variability amplitude further erode resilience and trait matching by amplifying persistent environmental mismatches and suppressing indirect stabilising pathways, whereas higher cross-species synchrony buffers mutualistic networks by maintaining indirect effects. Together, our results demonstrate that environmental variability reshapes eco-evolutionary dynamics not only through direct environmental forcing, but also by modulating indirect interaction pathways embedded in network structure, highlighting the joint roles of indirect effects, topology, and trait matching in determining adaptive mutualistic network stability. Supplementary Material File (oik-12381-file002.pdf) Download 6.02 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 28 January 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords eco-evolution environmental stochasticity mutualism trait matching Authors Affiliations Qi Ma 0000-0002-8088-5878 Hefei University of Technology View all articles by this author Liangliang Li Hefei University of Technology View all articles by this author Min Su 0000-0002-0231-878X [email protected] Hefei University of Technology View all articles by this author Cang Hui Stellenbosch University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 142 views 101 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Qi Ma, Liangliang Li, Min Su, et al. Environmental variability modulates trait matching, indirect effects, and resilience in adaptive mutualistic networks. Authorea . 28 January 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176962157.75704043/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. 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