The Impact of Mutualisms on Species Richness

Guillaume Chomicki*, Marjorie Weber, Alexandre Antonelli, Jordi Bascompte, E. Toby Kiers

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

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    Abstract

    Mutualisms – cooperative interactions among different species – are known to influence global biodiversity. Nevertheless, theoretical and empirical work has led to divergent hypotheses about how mutualisms modulate diversity. We ask here when and how mutualisms influence species richness. Our synthesis suggests that mutualisms can promote or restrict species richness depending on mutualist function, the level of partner dependence, and the specificity of the partnership. These characteristics, which themselves are influenced by environmental and geographic variables, regulate species richness at different scales by modulating speciation, extinction, and community coexistence. Understanding the relative impact of these mechanisms on species richness will require the integration of new phylogenetic comparative models as well as the manipulation and monitoring of experimental communities and their resulting interaction networks.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)698-711
    Number of pages14
    JournalTrends In Ecology and Evolution
    Volume34
    Issue number8
    Early online date17 Apr 2019
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2019

    Funding

    G.C. is supported by a Glasstone research fellowship and a Junior Research Fellowship at Queen’s College, both at the University of Oxford, UK. M.G.W. is funded by the National Science Foundation ( DIB1831164 ). A.A. is funded by the Swedish Research Council ( B0569601 ), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research , and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation . J.B. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation ( 31003A_169671 ). E.T.K. is supported by the European Research Council (ERC 335542 ). We thank D. Edler for discussions on biogeographic networks. G.C. is supported by a Glasstone research fellowship and a Junior Research Fellowship at Queen's College, both at the University of Oxford, UK. M.G.W. is funded by the National Science Foundation (DIB1831164). A.A. is funded by the Swedish Research Council (B0569601), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. J.B. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_169671). E.T.K. is supported by the European Research Council(ERC 335542). We thank D. Edler for discussions on biogeographic networks.

    FundersFunder number
    Queen's College
    Queen’s College
    National Science FoundationDIB1831164
    Seventh Framework Programme335542
    European Research Council
    Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung31003A_169671
    Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning
    Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
    VetenskapsrådetB0569601

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