Phenotypic selection exerted by a seed predator is replicated in space and time and among prey species
Entity
UAM. Departamento de EcologíaPublisher
University of ChicagoDate
2015-08-31Citation
10.1086/683131
The American Naturalist 186.5 (2015): 682-691
ISSN
0003-0147 (print); 1537-5323 (online)DOI
10.1086/683131Funded by
National Science Foundation (DEB-0212271 and DEB-0344503), the Robert B. Berry Endowed Chair, and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (CGL2010- 15687) for financial support for our researchProject
Gobierno de España. CGL2010-15687Editor's Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/683131Subjects
Biotic interactions; Geographic variation; Loxia curvirostra; Phenotypic selection; Pinus; Temporal variation; Biología y Biomedicina / BiologíaRights
© 2015 by The University of ChicagoAbstract
Although consistent phenotypic selection arising from biotic interactions is thought to be the primary cause of adaptive diversification, studies documenting such selection are relatively few. Here we analyze 12 episodes of phenotypic selection exerted by a predispersal seed predator, the red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra complex), on five species of pines (Pinus). We find that even though the intensity of selection for some traits increased with the strength of the interaction (i.e., proportion of seeds eaten), the relative strength of selection exerted by crossbills on cone and seed traits is replicated across space and time and among species. Such selection (1) can account for repeated patterns of conifer cone evolution and escalation in seed defenses with time and (2) suggests that variation in selection is less the result of variation intrinsic to pairwise biotic interactions than, for example, variation in relative densities of the interacting species, community context, and abiotic factors
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Google Scholar:Benkman, Craig W.
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Mezquida, Eduardo T.
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