Navigating a changing world: on the significance of rewiring for mutualistic interactions, caveats and future directions

Abstract

Rewiring, the ability of species to establish or reorganize interactions, is a natural ecological process occurring due to spatiotemporal variation in partner availability, regardless of anthropogenic disturbances. In mutualisms like frugivory, rewiring has dual implications: for plants, it affects seed dispersal and community composition; for animals, it determines access to nutritional resources. Here, we 1) review current knowledge on rewiring in mutualistic interactions; 2) identify important caveats and research gaps; and 3) propose a framework of mechanisms that facilitate or limit rewiring in vertebrate–fruiting plant interactions, which should be considered in future research. We argue that, while rewiring is often viewed as a flexible response driven by species abundances, co-occurrence, and morphological matching, this perspective oversimplifies the complexity of ecological and evolutionary processes shaping the reorganization of mutualisms. For instance, intraspecific variation in traits, fruit chemistry, competition dynamics, the role of rare or infrequent interactions, forbidden links, and alternative modes of seed dispersal all have the potential to determine the likelihood and ecological consequences of rewiring, and should be considered in future studies. Additionally, we highlight how methodological issues, such as biased or incomplete sampling, can hinder our understanding of rewiring potential. By integrating these overlooked elements, we propose a more comprehensive approach for predicting how mutualistic networks will respond to current and future environmental changes. This deeper understanding is essential for designing effective conservation strategies with the aim of understanding the resilience and functionality of ecosystems.