Spatial Mismatches of Plant‐Pollinator Interactions Under Future Climate Conditions

ABSTRACT Aim Global change could disrupt critical ecological interactions, especially if interacting species shift their geographic ranges at different rates or in different directions. Functional redundancy within generalized networks could make them more resilient to climate change than networks with highly specialized interactions. Location and Taxon In the Elk Mountains of Colorado, we examined plant‐pollinator interactions in the Rocky Mountain Iris ( Iris missouriensis ), a charismatic generalist wildflower distributed across broad climatic gradients over elevation and visited by a diversity of pollinators. Methods In 2021 and 2022, we recorded 90 h of video footage documenting potential pollinators that visited I. missouriensis flowers in seven populations arrayed across an elevational gradient. We recorded floral visitors twice per season in each population to capture spatial and temporal variation in pollinator species composition and abundance. We modelled plant‐pollinator networks across I. missouriensis populations to evaluate species turnover and test the extent to which the diversity and abundance of pollinators vary across elevation. We examined range shifts in I. missouriensis and 11 of its key pollinators to test if climate change could generate spatial mismatches owing to species‐specific changes in geographic distributions, disrupting plant‐pollinator interactions. Results Our ecological network analysis revealed that pollinator species richness and diversity are highest at mid‐elevation sites. Our species distribution models revealed that future climate scenarios could reduce the probability of I. missouriensis co‐occurrence with current pollinators. Main Conclusion Thus, species‐specific geographic responses to climate change could reshape the pollinator community even of generalist plants with diverse pollinator assemblages.