Robert Tropek

Robert Tropek

@robtrop.bsky.social

Tropical ecologist, community ecologist, and entomologist at @sciencecharles.bsky.social and Biology Centre Czech Academy of Science; head of Insect Community Ecology Group (https://www.insect-communities.cz/)

266 followers222 following48 posts

Robert Tropek reposted

Lee Dyer
@gusanero.bsky.social

This is definitely worth reading if you like pollinator research, specialization, ecology, and latitudinal gradients. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comGlobal patterns in plant–pollinator specialization - Nature Ecology & EvolutionPlant–pollinator networks vary tremendously across ecosystems. Here the authors use a global standardized dataset of plant–pollinator interactions to explore geographic patterns of specialization and ...

Robert Tropek reposted

Science X / Phys.org
@sciencex.bsky.social

Climate explains specialized plant–pollinator partnerships better than latitude does. These relationships are not more common in the tropics, and patterns differ among pollinator groups. doi.org/hck8qs

phys.orgGlobal pollination analysis reveals climate explains specialized partnerships better than latitudeAn international study led by researchers from Charles University in Prague (CUNI) and the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (BC CAS) has mapped how closely flowering plants and their pollinators depend on each other.

Robert Tropek reposted

Michael Lattorff
@hmglattorff.bsky.social

New paper out in @natecoevo.nature.com on plant-pollinator interactions and how climate change affects them.

Nature Ecology & Evolution@natecoevo.nature.com

Here the authors use a global standardized dataset of plant–pollinator interactions to explore geographic patterns of specialization and their dependence on climate variables and taxonomic and functional identity 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comGlobal patterns in plant–pollinator specialization - Nature Ecology & EvolutionPlant–pollinator networks vary tremendously across ecosystems. Here the authors use a global standardized dataset of plant–pollinator interactions to explore geographic patterns of specialization and ...

Robert Tropek reposted

Nature Ecology & Evolution
@natecoevo.nature.com

Here the authors use a global standardized dataset of plant–pollinator interactions to explore geographic patterns of specialization and their dependence on climate variables and taxonomic and functional identity 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comGlobal patterns in plant–pollinator specialization - Nature Ecology & EvolutionPlant–pollinator networks vary tremendously across ecosystems. Here the authors use a global standardized dataset of plant–pollinator interactions to explore geographic patterns of specialization and ...

Robert Tropek reposted

Sailee Sakhalkar
@saileesakhalkar.bsky.social

Our latest work is out @natecoevo.nature.com! We revisit a classic: Are interactions more specialised towards the tropics?🌻🪰 Great to lead this with @robtrop.bsky.social, and our coauthors across the world! Grateful for their collaboration🥳, and hope to continue working with this amazing community!

Robert Tropek@robtrop.bsky.social

New study published in @natecoevo.nature.com ! We assembled the largest global dataset of plant–pollinator networks to ask a simple question: do interactions become more specialised towards the tropics? doi.org/10.1038/s415... Study led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ 1/8

Robert Tropek reposted

Dr Manu Saunders FRES
@manusaunders.bsky.social

Great to see this excellent analysis by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and @robtrop.bsky.social out. Stronger support, across multiple taxa/more networks, for a pattern we also showed for insect pollinators: climate stronger driver of pollinator network roles and specialisation than latitude (🔗👇)

Robert Tropek@robtrop.bsky.social

The strongest common thread was climate. Temperature and rainfall were generally better-supported predictors of specialisation than latitude, biodiversity or ecosystem productivity. Yet their effects were nonlinear and differed greatly among pollinator groups. 7/8

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Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

The strongest common thread was climate. Temperature and rainfall were generally better-supported predictors of specialisation than latitude, biodiversity or ecosystem productivity. Yet their effects were nonlinear and differed greatly among pollinator groups. 7/8

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Why does this matter? Climate change can alter where species occur and when plants flower or pollinators are active. We did not test future changes directly, but our results suggest that pollination networks will not all respond in the same way. 8/8

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Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

The classic expectations were not supported. Specialisation neither consistently increase towards the Equator, nor towards the poles. Network-level and pollinator specialisation often peaked around 20–30° N, near the tropical–subtropical boundary. 5/8

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Nor was there one pattern for all pollinators. Bees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and birds showed distinct geographical trends, often with several local peaks and dips. Lumping them together would hide much of this ecological variation. 6/8

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Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

To test this, we compiled 3,415 quantitative networks with >110,000 links among 5,343 pollinator and 6,126 plant species across all major terrestrial biomes. The study brought together 142 researchers from 32 countries. 3/8

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Besides the data size, we treated limits of previous studies: controlled sampling completeness, separated community-wide networks from group-focused ones, and analysed plants and pollinator groups separately. This distinguished broad trends from group-specific responses. 4/8

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Specialisation is an evolutionary bargain. A close match can make feeding and pollen transfer highly efficient, but it also creates dependence on particular partners. Ecologists have long expected such close relationships to be especially common in the tropics. 2/8

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

I am very proud and honoured that one more moth species, Sineviella tropeki, was dedicated to me! Together with Sineviella maicheri, dedicated to my former student Dr. Vincent Maicher.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

New preprint on interaction networks from our group! Do network characteristics peak mid-gradient, similar to species richness, due to simple geometry: the mid-domain effect (MDE). We test this using simulations and real plant–pollinator and ant–plant networks. doi.org/10.64898/202...

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Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Our null-model simulations show that MDE alone can generate strong structure: - unimodal peaks in realised links, generality and vulnerability - U-shaped patterns in connectance and often nestedness All emerging from geometry, not biology...

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Empirical elevational networks partly follow these MDE predictions, but also show clear deviations. 👉 Mid-domain effect matters, although biology leaves a major fingerprint. Ignoring MDE risks misinterpreting null patterns as biological signals.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

New preprint on interaction networks from our group! Do network characteristics peak mid-gradient, similar to species richness, due to simple geometry: the mid-domain effect (MDE). We test this using simulations and real plant–pollinator and ant–plant networks. doi.org/10.64898/202...

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

If species overlap most in the middle of a gradient, interactions among overlapping species should too. Under MDE alone, network metrics are predicted to show unimodal or U-shaped patterns, even without any niche differences or environmental filtering.

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Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Pollinators were part of the story: visitation frequency and diversity declined upslope and were linked to seed production. But pollen limitation and reproductive failure weren’t explained by pollinators alone – abiotic constraints kick in hard at the top.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Take-home message: upslope range shifts under climate warming won’t automatically mean successful reproduction. Near mountaintops, plants face a double bottleneck – fewer pollinators and physiological limits. Pollination + climate must be considered together.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Reproductive success peaked at mid-elevations but collapsed near the summit. Seed set dropped sharply, while pollen limitation increased strongly. In some species, plants barely produced seeds even when we hand-added pollen. Harsh environments matter.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

You might expect plants to compensate by selfing when pollinators decline. They didn’t. Despite partial self-compatibility, there was no consistent shift towards selfing at high elevations. Reproductive assurance failed to rescue summit populations.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

You wake up after the Christmas party, pry your eyes open, check you still have your phone, and then you open your email… (this first email in Czech is announcing that my student has submitted her MSc thesis)

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

But here’s the twist: despite broader niches across elevations, insects don’t loosen their selectivity within each forest zone. They still use only a slice of what’s locally available. Behaviour, microclimate and competition likely keep them picky.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

This split between broadening across the gradient and selectivity within elevations reveals hidden complexity in montane specialisation. As the first test of habitat niches in tropical insects, it may also reshape how we think about their responses to environmental change.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

We found a striking pattern: Butterflies become clear habitat generalists upslope, while moths show subtler versions of the same trend. High-elevation forests seem to open up more “ecological space”, and some taxa readily expand into it.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Study based on my MSc thesis has just reached 400 citations!💪 Fully my idea, ignored by my supervisor as "not interesting". I got a small student grant (~1000 EUR), fully coordinated the entire project, sampled a lot of insects, passed hard review process... And it IS interesting for others!

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

The study showed that natural processes can be better than some technocratic restoration approaches. Its results has also been incorporated in numerous projects of postindustrial sites, in strategic documents, and others. I am happy to not follow my supervisor's opinion! doi.org/10.1111/j.13...

Robert Tropek reposted

Sailee Sakhalkar
@saileesakhalkar.bsky.social

The most challenging chapter of my PhD thesis is now out as a preprint! A joint effort I co-led with @robtrop.bsky.social and 139 incredible collaborators from all around the world. Huge thanks to everyone involved!

Robert Tropek@robtrop.bsky.social

New preprint! “Climate-driven specialisation in plant–pollinator networks peaks outside the tropics” Testing the long-debated latitudinal specialisation gradient using >3,400 quantitative networks (>110,000 interactions). Led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Pollination is often least specialised in the tropics and peaks at northern mid-latitudes. Plants and pollinators show contrasting, non-linear trends, and climate, not latitude, is the key driver. Temperature, rainfall, and seasonality explain global variation in interaction specialisation.

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Warmer and less seasonal climates promote generalisation. This means climate change may erode the world’s most specialised pollination systems, although unevenly across taxa and regions. This synthesis was possible only through a global collaboration of 140+ researchers...

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Today, we have received an announcement that Intranet of @charlesuni.cuni.cz is becoming an official communication channel between the university and its employees. Probably a good idea but... the university decides to ignore a few hundreds (I guess🤔) non-Czech speaking staff🤡 (please fix it!)

Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Our mini-review on the role of moths in pollination of tropical plants has been published! Maybe interesting not only for entomologists, botanists, and pollination ecologists...

Michal Barták@michalbartak.bsky.social

🚨New paper on tropical moth pollination 🧵1/8 - What happens in tropical ecosystems when the day ends?🌔🦋 Our new review that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote highlights moths’ vital role in pollination and outlines research gaps, challenges and biases. Sharing valued! Link: doi.org/10.1017/S026...

doi.orgWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems | Journal of Tropical Ecology | Cambridge CoreWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems - Volume 41

Robert Tropek reposted

Michal Barták
@michalbartak.bsky.social

🚨New paper on tropical moth pollination 🧵1/8 - What happens in tropical ecosystems when the day ends?🌔🦋 Our new review that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote highlights moths’ vital role in pollination and outlines research gaps, challenges and biases. Sharing valued! Link: doi.org/10.1017/S026...

doi.orgWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems | Journal of Tropical Ecology | Cambridge CoreWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems - Volume 41
Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

Serious question from a European scientist: Are there any Trump voters among American academics who are now satisfied with the situation in US research/academia? I suppose they are not common in this network but do you know any? (I hope this nightmare will end soon)

Elinne Becket, PhD@bielleogy.bsky.social

Friendly reminder: if you are waiting on something from a US-based scientist/reviewer/editor, please realize that we're barely making it through each day putting out non-stop fires and trying not to collapse into tears. We're trying our best, but things will take longer right now. Give grace.

Robert Tropek reposted

Chris van Swaay
@chrisvanswaay.eurosky.social

A new butterfly species in Europe: Papilio saharae. An African species with (as far as we know at the moment) one population in Europe on Lampedusa. resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.comWhole‐genome data shed light on speciation and within‐species differentiation of the Papilio machaon complex around the Mediterranean BasinGenomic data refine the species boundary of Papilio machaon and confirm the species status of Papilio saharae, with clarification of subspecies delineation of Mediterranean machaon and saharae. A he...

Robert Tropek reposted

Jens-Christian Svenning
@jcsvenning.bsky.social

🌿🌳 Rethinking Europe’s #Nature🍃🐘 Our new study challenges the closed-forest paradigm—pre-Homo sapiens landscapes were a fine-grained mosaic of open areas, closed #forest & light #woodland, likely linked to the rich #megafauna🐂🏵️https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950475925000061

Robert Tropek reposted

Niklas Wahlberg
@lepphylo.bsky.social

A postdoc opportunity to work on Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) functional genomics with me, @jadrankarota.bsky.social and @chriswheat.bsky.social in Lund, Sweden. We aim to leverage the amazing amount of data being generated by @projectpsyche.bsky.social and DToL projects. lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

lu.varbi.comPostdoctoral fellow in Noctuidae functional genomicsSubject description The project will use a comparative functional genomes approach to study a species-rich group of moths, Noctuidae (Lepidoptera). Noctuidae have both a huge negative and positive imp
Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social

You buy an interactive book for your kid realising its texts are based on scientific results of your wife @fishevo.bsky.social!😍 Proud a lot💪

FishEvo Zuzana Musilova@fishevo.bsky.social

When you buy an interactive kid book on the oceans - and you find the results of your research there (on how deep-sea fish see their world:-). That’s the real impact!:-) hope it gets translated in Eng eventually:-)