|
|
|
Consistency and variation in phenotypic selection exerted by a community of seed predators
|
| submitted by volintenavedea 9 months ago
|
|
Phenotypic selection that is sustained over time underlies both anagenesis and cladogenesis, but the conditions that lead to such selection and what causes variation in selection are not well known. We measured the selection exerted by three species of predispersal seed predators of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta latifolia) in the South Hills, Idaho and found that net selection on different cone and seed traits exerted by red crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) and cone borer moths (Eucosma recissoriana) over 1 years of seed crops was similar to that measured in another mountain range. We also found that the strength of selection increased as seed predation increased, which provides a mechanism for the correlation between the escalation of seed defenses and the density of seed predators. Red crossbills consume the most seeds and selection they exert accounts for much of the selection experienced by lodgepole pine, providing additional support for a coevolutionary arms race between crossbills and lodgepole pine in the South Hills. The third seed predator, hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus), consumed less than one-sixth as many seeds as crossbills. Across the northern Rocky Mountains, woodpecker abundance and therefore selective impact appears limited by the elevated seed defenses of lodgepole pine.
|
| Topic: Biology |
|
Add your comment
Please Login or Signup to leave a comment
Related stories
|
|
| Geographic variation in salt marsh structure and function |
| submitted by vectarvonrej 11 months ago - Topic: Biology |
|
We examined geographic variation in the structure and function of salt marsh communities along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Focusing on the arthropod community in the dominant salt marsh plant Spartina alterniflora, we tested two hypotheses: first, that marsh community struc...
|
|
|
|
| Osteogenesis imperfecta: Bench to bedside |
| submitted by csastadint 3 months ago - Topic: Health |
|
There has been a significant expansion in our understanding of the molecular biology of OI. The number of genes responsible for the disorder has increased from 2 (COL1A1 and COL1A2) in 2007, to 9 in 2012 (CRTAP, LEPRE1, PPIB, Hsp47/SERPINH1, SERPINF1, FKBP10 and most recently, adding IFITM5). Als...
|
|
|
|
