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Abstract
Temporal patterns of plant flowering and insect activity influence plant-pollinator community structure and function, especially in seasonal environments like Arctic tundra. While plant-pollinator interactions in the High Arctic are well documented, fewer studies have addressed these interactions in the Low Arctic. We investigated baseline temporal dynamics in network structure, floral density, insect visitation, and insect pollen transfer over a single growing season in Alaska. During the summer of 2022, we routinely surveyed flowering phenology, conducted insect visitor observations, and collected insect specimens for pollen analysis at two study sites proximal to Toolik Field Station on the Alaskan North Slope. Plant-visitor networks were created for both the entire growing season and for time-slices, temporal trends in flowering, visitation, and pollen transfer were analyzed using GAMM models, and insect pollen load was compared between taxonomic groups. The cumulative plant-insect network contained 41 plant species and 28 insect families, and showed patterns of generalization and nestedness. We found strong temporal dimensions of plant flowering, insect visitation, and plant-insect interactions. Network complexity exhibited a gradual build up and decline, peaking at the beginning of July. Temporal trends in floral density differed significantly between study sites and community types. Flies (Order Diptera) maintained a constant low visitation rate throughout the season, while bumblebees and wasp (Order Hymenoptera) visitation exhibited distinct pulses. Hymenopterans also carried significantly more pollen than Dipterans, and showed a clear peak in pollen load in early June. These findings create a foundation for understanding plant-pollinator interactions over time in the Low Arctic, which is especially important given the rapid impacts of climate change on phenology and mutualistic interactions.