Melinda Kleczynski (08/21/24): Persistent homology of plant-pollinator interactions

Title: Persistent homology of plant-pollinator interactions: The importance of flowering plant surveys

Abstract: Mathematical analysis of plant-pollinator interactions is an active research area. A common strategy is to represent the collection of interactions as a network. This approach only allows for connections between pairs of vertices. Topological data analysis extends this framework with simplicial complexes, allowing connections between larger numbers of vertices. Connections can be weighted based on the preference of a type of pollinator for a type of plant. Using persistent homology, we can identify topological features which persist for large ranges of pollinator preference. Depending on data availability and the choice of analysis technique, pollinator preferences may be computed using quantitative interaction data alone or by using interaction data together with a survey of flowering plants. We find that there can be significant differences in the persistent homology generated by weighted interaction data, depending on whether or not plant survey data is used for computing interaction strengths. This demonstrates the utility of flowering plant survey data for understanding the structure of plant-pollinator communities.