Date post: | 25-Jan-2015 |
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Evolution of species interactions: finding meaning in community-level phylogenetic patterns
Rachel M. Germain and Benjamin GilbertDepartment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
“As species of the same genus usually have some similarity in habits and structure, the struggle will generally be more severe between species of the same genus.”
C. Darwin, 1859
1946: “…the thing that stands out (in ecological surveys) is the high percentage of genera with only one species present.”
84% of plant genera only have a single species represented locally
Elton et al. 1946 J of Animal Ecology
Environmental filteringCompetitive interactions
Over-dispersion Under-dispersion
Webb et al. 2002 Annu Rev Ecol Syst
…but evidence is mixed in natural systems
Anderson et al. 2011 J of Ecology
= sig over- or under- dispersion
= non-sig over -or under- dispersion
Environmental filteringCompetitive interactions
Mechanistic inferences are contingent on trait conservatism
Environmental filteringCompetitive interactions
Mechanistic inferences are contingent on trait conservatism
Environmental filteringCompetitive interactions
Mechanistic inferences are contingent on trait conservatism
Environmental filteringCompetitive interactions
No phylogenetic signal Over-dispersion
Mechanistic inferences are contingent on trait conservatism
Phylogenetic conservatism varies from trait-to-trait
Cavender-Bares et al. 2006 Ecology
Rates of trait evolution vary widely across lineages
Rate of trait evolution
Venditti et al. 2011 Nature
Implications for taxonomic scale dependency
Cavender-Bares et al. 2006 Ecology
Quercus Ilex Pinus
Biogeographic history influences trait evolution and species interactions
Phylogenetic patterns may be unpredictable between species that have not coevolved through evolutionary time
Are phylogenetic patterns useful for understanding ecological processes?
• Problems:– lack of trait conservatism• between traits• between lineages
– taxonomic scales– biogeographic history
Empirical examples?
My MSc workMediterranean annual plants from
California and Spain
Pairwise competition trials based on:– phylogenetic distance– biogeographic origin
How do species differences, biogeography, and the environment combine to regulate phylogeny-coexistence relationships?
How do species differences, biogeography, and the environment combine to regulate phylogeny-coexistence relationships?
Acknowledgements
Marc Cadotte Chris Blackford Natalie JonesJason Weir Yvonne Chan
Alicia Hou S&S SeedBruce Hall HerbiseedAndrew Petrie