Asymmetric specialization:: A pervasive feature of plant-pollinator interactions

被引:285
作者
Vázquez, DP
Aizen, MA
机构
[1] Univ Calif Santa Barbara, Natl Ctr Ecol Anal & Synth, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 USA
[2] Univ Nacl Comahue, CRUB, Lab Ecotono, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina
关键词
asymmetric specialization; generalization; network organization; null models; plant-pollinator interactions;
D O I
10.1890/03-3112
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
Although specialization in species interactions has usually been equated to reciprocal specialization, asymmetric specialization (i.e., a specialist interacting with a generalist) is also likely. Recent studies have suggested that asymmetric specialization in species interactions could be more common than previously thought. We contrasted patterns of asymmetric specialization observed in 18 plant-pollinator interaction webs with predictions based on null models. We found that asymmetric specialization is common in plant-pollinator interactions, and that its occurrence is more frequent than expected under a simple null model that assumed random interactions among species; furthermore, large assemblages with many pairs of,interacting species tend to have more asymmetric interactions than smaller assemblages. A second null model, which incorporated a correlation between species frequency of interaction and degree of specialization observed in most data sets produced patterns that were generally closer to those present in the data. At least three kinds of explanations could account for the observed asymmetric specialization, including random interactions among individuals (rather than species), adaptive consequences of specialization, and artifacts, such as data aggregation and sampling biases. Future studies should be aimed at understanding the relative importance of each of these alternative explanations in generating asymmetric specialization in species interactions.
引用
收藏
页码:1251 / 1257
页数:7
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