Maintenance of variation in mutualism by screening
1Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 18602.
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|August 8, 2019
Summary
Partner choice models struggle to explain variation in symbiont quality. Inaccurate screening, however, can maintain this variation by making diverse partner qualities beneficial, even with a preference for high-quality symbionts.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Theoretical Biology
Background:
- Mutualisms often involve partner choice, where hosts select symbionts.
- Models predict selection for high-quality partners should reduce variation in quality over time.
- Observed natural variation in symbiont quality presents a challenge to these models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how variation in partner quality can persist despite partner choice.
- To explore the role of imperfect screening mechanisms in maintaining this variation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a theoretical screening model of partner choice.
- Incorporated inaccuracies in the assignment of costs and rewards during screening.
- Analyzed the conditions under which a stable polymorphism in partner quality can be maintained.
Main Results:
- A stable polymorphism in partner quality can arise when screening is imperfect.
- Rewards are higher when partners vary in quality compared to when only one type exists.
- Partner quality experiences negative frequency-dependent selection, favoring rarer types.
Conclusions:
- Imperfect partner screening can effectively maintain variation in partner quality.
- Accurate screening is not essential for its effectiveness; inaccuracies can be adaptive.
- This mechanism resolves the conceptual problem of eroding variation in mutualistic partnerships.
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