Gene flow and metacommunity arrangement affects coevolutionary dynamics at the mutualism-antagonism interface

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Population Genetics

Background:

• Interspecific interactions exhibit spatial variation in strength and effect due to community context.
• Coevolutionary dynamics are shaped by spatially varying selection, particularly when gene flow links communities.
• The interplay between mutualism and antagonism is driven by species traits and their matching.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how metacommunity structure (connectivity and number of communities) affects coevolutionary dynamics.
• To analyze the coevolutionary outcomes of species with spatially variable interactions (mutualism-antagonism).
• To understand the role of intraspecific genetic diversity and interspecific interactions in coevolutionary patterns.

Main Methods:

• Quantified coevolutionary outcomes using a novel index.
• Decomposed the index into contributions from genetic diversity and interspecific interactions.
• Modeled coevolutionary dynamics under varying metacommunity arrangements and gene flow levels.

Main Results:

• Polymorphisms and mismatches between interacting species are common outcomes.
• These genetic patterns are influenced by spatial structure, interaction strength, and gene flow.
• The coevolutionary index reveals how genetic variation is distributed within and between species.

Conclusions:

• Metacommunity arrangement significantly impacts coevolutionary trajectories and genetic diversity.
• Certain communities play crucial roles in maintaining overall genetic diversity.
• Understanding these dynamics is vital for predicting coevolution in fragmented landscapes.