Community resilience and stability have often been considered outcomes of interaction network structure. These assumptions however have faced strong criticism given that the ecological outcomes of the interactions are often ignored, leading to the overinterpretation of network structural properties. Evaluating the link between network structure and components of reproductive success across species can thus help provide a more ecologically relevant understanding of the relationship between network structure and function (i.e., stability). Specifically, within pollination networks, there is a need to integrate knowledge of interaction network structure with pollination outcomes that reflect the full complexity of the pollination process. Here, we obtained and integrated data on network structural properties resulting from the interactions between 20 plant and 110 floral-visiting species, with multiple estimates of male and female reproductive success for all plant species. Network properties differentially affected male and female reproductive functions. An increase in plant species partner diversity and contribution to nestedness positively associated with the proportion of flowers receiving conspecific pollen but had no effect on pollen dispersal or tube formation. Specialization was the only network property that maximized both functions, suggesting this component play a larger role in long-term stability of plant communities. These results emphasize the need to incorporate empirical knowledge of interaction outcomes into our understanding of the functional consequences of network structure. This knowledge is key to overcoming fundamental limitations in network ecology providing meaningful insights into the resilience and stability of ecological systems.

This data set was used to evaluate the relationship between interaction network properties at species (strength, specialization and nestedness) and components of pollination successData collection was conducted at a serpentine seep meta-community in the McLaughlin Natural Reserve (38.8582º N, 122.4093º W) in Northern California, United States. To obtain network indices, we built a visitation-based plant-pollinator network containing 20 plants and 110 flower-visiting insect species, and calculated species strength, specialization (d') and contribution to nestedness for each plant species (n = 20). All flower-visiting insects contacting plant reproductive structures (i.e., anthers and stigmas) were collected by 2-3 people that simultaneously walked established trails between 09h00 and 15h00 using entomological nets from May 9th through June 1st, 2021 (˃ 120 hr of total observation). The following components of the pollination succes were quantified for each plant species during the same period: 1) proportion of flowers with conspecific pollen (CP), 2) mean pollen dispersal on pollinators, 3) proportion of pollen loss to heterospecific stigmas, 4) heterospecific pollen (HP) receipt, and 5) proportion of pollen tubes formed. For 1, 3, 4 and 5, we sampled 1319 flowers (styles), with a mean of 65.95 (± 32.62) styles per plant species. After appropriate processing, softening and staining, the total number of conspecific and heterospecific pollen grains on the stigmas were identified and counted. We also recorded the number of pollen tubes that reached the base of the style under a fluorescent microscope. For 2, we sampled the pollen loads carried by all 744 insects collected to estimate pollen dispersal success by counting and identifying pollen grains.  Additionally, we estimated flower abundance in the flowering season using 40 plots (1x2-meter each) to understand their influence on the considered male and female components.