Asymmetric coevolutionary networks facilitate biodiversity maintenance |
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| Authors: | Bascompte Jordi Jordano Pedro Olesen Jens M |
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| Institution: | Integrative Ecology Group, Estaciòn Biològica de Do?ana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientìficas, Apartado 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain. bascompte@ebd.csic.es |
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| Abstract: | The mutualistic interactions between plants and their pollinators or seed dispersers have played a major role in the maintenance of Earth's biodiversity. To investigate how coevolutionary interactions are shaped within species-rich communities, we characterized the architecture of an array of quantitative, mutualistic networks spanning a broad geographic range. These coevolutionary networks are highly asymmetric, so that if a plant species depends strongly on an animal species, the animal depends weakly on the plant. By using a simple dynamical model, we showed that asymmetries inherent in coevolutionary networks may enhance long-term coexistence and facilitate biodiversity maintenance. |
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