Opposed latitudinal patterns of network-derived and dietary specialization in avian plant – frugivore interaction systems

regions (Dobzhansky 1950, MacArthur 1969, Schemske 2002, Schemske et al. 2009). A priori, one might indeed expect that species with broad niches inhabit temperate environments, as lower productivity and more seasonal and inter-annual fl uctuations in climate and resources should select for morphological, physiological and behavioral traits that allow foraging on a broad range of food types (Waser et al. 1996, Dynesius and Jansson 2000, Dalsgaard et al. 2011, 2013, Rech et al. 2016). However, it remains debated whether biotic specialization in fact decreases toward temperate regions. Ecography 40: 001–007, 2017 doi: 10.1111/ecog.02604 © 2016 Th e Authors. Ecography © 2016 Nordic Society Oikos Subject Editor: Paulo Guimaraes. Editor-in-Chief: Miguel Ara ú jo. Accepted 23 October 2016