Título del libro: Acacia: Characteristics, Distribution And Uses
Título del capítulo: The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution applied to the neotropical mutualism acacia-pseudomyrmex
SANDRA LUZ GOMEZ ACEVEDO;
Autores externos:
Idioma:
Año de publicación:
2018
Resumen:
The symbiotic associations between plants and ants are one of the classic examples of mutualism in nature. This kind of relationship achieves a high degree of sophistication in the myrmecophytic plants, which are characterized by offering permanent shelter and food for their resident ants. In return, the ants protect the plants for the herbivory and confer additional benefits such as protection against pathogenic fungi; the removal of lianas; the addition of nutrients (principally nitrogen) through waste decomposition; and the absorption of CO2. The relationship between swollen thorn Acacias and their associated ants has been one of the best known symbiosis so far. The Neotropical Acacia-Pseudomyrmex mutualism includes 15 species of Acacias and a group of 10 species of mutualistic ants whose geographical distribution is similar. This relationship is frequently cited as an example of coevolution, a term that has been used to refer to the reciprocal change of interacting species, where each of them acts as an agent of natural selection with respect to the other, and where the reciprocal selection would result in congruent phylogenies. However, several reports indicate that the relationship between these taxa does not correspond to the original proposal of strict coevolution, since throughout its geographical distribution, a single ant-Acacia species can be inhabited by two or more species of mutualistic ants and even non-mutualistic ants, and have referred to this system as an example of diffuse coevolution. Nevertheless, this kind of relationship shows that although at a population level, relations imply a certain specialization towards one or another species of ant, at a global level, when considering the entire geographical distribution, the evolutionary unit of interaction can include more than one pair of species. This generates a whole range of interrelations, pointing out that the coevolutionary process between these taxa is highly dynamic and corresponds to the proposal of the geographical mosaic theory. © 2018 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Entidades citadas de la UNAM:
ISBN:
9781536142389
Editorial:
Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Nombre de la publicación:
The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution applied to the neotropical mutualism acacia-pseudomyrmex
Página inicial:
213
Página final:
234
Tipo de producto:
Capítulo de un Libro
