Abstract
Although recent evidence indicates that coevolutionary interactions between species often vary on a biogeographical scale, little consideration has been given to the processes responsible for producing this pattern. One potential explanation is that changes in the community composition alter the coevolutionary interactions between species, but little evidence exists regarding the occurrence of such changes. Here we present evidence that the pattern of natural selection on plant defence traits, and the probable response to that selection, are critically dependent on the composition of the biotic community. The evolutionary trajectory of defence traits against mammalian herbivory in the Ivyleaf morning glory (Ipomoea hederacea), and which defence traits are likely to respond to selection, are both dependent on the presence or absence of insect herbivores. These results indicate that variation in community composition may be a driving force in generating geographical mosaics.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (160.6 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Gómez JM, Zamora R. Spatial Variation in the Selective Scenarios of Hormathophylla spinosa (Cruciferae). Am Nat. 2000 May;155(5):657–668. doi: 10.1086/303353. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- May R. M., Anderson R. M. Epidemiology and genetics in the coevolution of parasites and hosts. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1983 Oct 22;219(1216):281–313. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1983.0075. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rausher M. D. Genetic analysis of coevolution between plants and their natural enemies. Trends Genet. 1996 Jun;12(6):212–217. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(96)10020-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Strauss SY, Agrawal AA. The ecology and evolution of plant tolerance to herbivory. Trends Ecol Evol. 1999 May;14(5):179–185. doi: 10.1016/s0169-5347(98)01576-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tiffin P., Inouye B. D. Measuring tolerance to herbivory: accuracy and precision of estimates made using natural versus imposed damage. Evolution. 2000 Jun;54(3):1024–1029. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb00101.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tiffin P, Rausher MD. Genetic Constraints and Selection Acting on Tolerance to Herbivory in the Common Morning Glory Ipomoea purpurea. Am Nat. 1999 Dec;154(6):700–716. doi: 10.1086/303271. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vieira C., Pasyukova E. G., Zeng Z. B., Hackett J. B., Lyman R. F., Mackay T. F. Genotype-environment interaction for quantitative trait loci affecting life span in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 2000 Jan;154(1):213–227. doi: 10.1093/genetics/154.1.213. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]