Mutualisms are species interactions that are mutually beneficial, including cleaning mutualisms, seed dispersal, and pollination among many others. In nature, most mutualistic interactions are generalized, with any given species interacting with many other partner species. The interactions between pairs of species scale up to form networks, which have a characteristic set of structural properties that are widely consistent across different species, interaction types, and ecosystems. In this talk I will cover two of our ongoing projects focused on how the structure of mutualistic networks—particularly pollination networks—relates to how these ecological systems function and respond to perturbation. I will also discuss some early thoughts on a new future direction in this area. Each of these projects includes a focus on integrating empirical work with quantitative modeling.