Mutualisms in a changing world: an evolutionary perspective.

E.T. Kiers, T.M. Palmer, A.I. Ives, J. Bruno, J.L. Bronstein

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    There is growing concern that rapid environmental degradation threatens mutualistic interactions. Because mutualisms can bind species to a common fate, mutualism breakdown has the potential to expand and accelerate effects of global change on biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption. The current focus on the ecological dynamics of mutualism under global change has skirted fundamental evolutionary issues. Here, we develop an evolutionary perspective on mutualism breakdown to complement the ecological perspective, by focusing on three processes: (1) shifts from mutualism to antagonism, (2) switches to novel partners and (3) mutualism abandonment. We then identify the evolutionary factors that may make particular classes of mutualisms especially susceptible or resistant to breakdown and discuss how communities harbouring mutualisms may be affected by these evolutionary responses. We propose a template for evolutionary research on mutualism resilience and identify conservation approaches that may help conserve targeted mutualisms in the face of environmental change. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1459-1474
    JournalEcology Letters
    Volume13
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Mutualisms in a changing world: an evolutionary perspective.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this