Evolutionary history and ecological processes shape a local multilevel antagonistic network.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Network Theory

Background:

• Understanding ecological network structure is crucial.
• Phylogenetic conservation of interactions is widely assumed.
• Local ecological processes may counteract phylogenetic effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the roles of phylogeny and local ecological processes in structuring antagonistic networks.
• To assess these effects across multiple network levels.
• To resolve the influence of resource and consumer relatedness on interaction overlap.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a highly resolved, four-level antagonistic ecological network.
• Quantification of phylogenetic relatedness among resource and consumer species.
• Statistical assessment of correlations between phylogenetic relatedness and interaction partner overlap.

Main Results:

• Phylogenetic relatedness among resource species positively correlated with consumer overlap.
• Phylogenetic relatedness among consumer species showed no or negative correlation with resource overlap.
• A pervasive pattern indicating dual structuring by resource phylogeny and consumer competition was observed.

Conclusions:

• Antagonistic networks are shaped by both resource evolutionary history and exploitative competition among consumers.
• Exploitative competition limits resource overlap among closely related consumers.
• The strength of phylogenetic signal varies consistently across network levels, with implications for ecological dynamics.