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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
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A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods
Published on: October 20, 2019
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The dynamics of strangling among forest trees
1Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|August 2, 2015
Summary
Strangler trees evolve only when their germination rates exceed a critical threshold. Their success depends on interactions with non-stranglers, influencing community dynamics and evolutionary stability.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary ecology
- Plant biology
- Community dynamics
Background:
- Strangler trees grow on hosts, offering fitness advantages.
- Despite advantages, stranglers are not dominant and their strategy is rare outside Ficus.
- Interactions between strangling and non-strangling trees are key to understanding their evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze the adaptive landscape for strangling and non-strangling tree mutants.
- Determine conditions for the evolution and stability of strangling.
- Investigate the impact of strangling on host-tree coexistence.
Main Methods:
- Dynamic interaction modeling between strangling and non-strangling trees.
- Analysis of adaptive landscapes for evolutionary mutants.
- Derivation of conditions for evolutionary stability and coexistence.
Main Results:
- A germination rate threshold is required for the evolution of strangling.
- Relative site-occupancy abilities govern the evolutionary stability of strangling.
- Conditions for strangler coexistence with non-stranglers were identified.
Conclusions:
- Strangling evolution is contingent on specific germination rates and interspecific competition.
- The evolution of strangling can disrupt existing commensal-epiphyte relationships.
- Findings offer insights into antagonistic interactions and the evolution of hemiepiphytism.
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