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Specialization patterns in symbiotic associations: A community perspective over spatial scales
Clara Rodríguez-Arribas1, Isabel Martínez1, Gregorio Aragón1
1Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Research Group of "Ecología, sistemática y evolución de hongos y líquenes (ESEFUNLICH)", Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles Spain.
Ecology and Evolution
|July 13, 2023
Summary
Specialization in lichen symbiosis is context-dependent, varying with spatial scale and measurement. Environmental factors shape cyanobiont communities, influencing lichen specialization patterns across diverse forest ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Symbiosis Research
- Mycology
- Phycology
Background:
- Specialization is a key ecological concept, defined by the range of interacting partners within an organism's niche.
- Factors like evolutionary history, ecological interactions, and study scale influence specialization patterns.
- Lichen symbiosis, involving a fungus (mycobiont) and a cyanobacterium (cyanobiont), offers a model to study specialization dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess specialization patterns and their drivers in lichen symbiosis from a community perspective.
- To investigate how spatial scale affects specialization in the interaction between mycobionts and cyanobionts.
- To determine the influence of environmental factors on cyanobiont communities and subsequent lichen specialization.
Main Methods:
- Quantified cyanobiont (Nostoc) phylogroup richness and community composition in 37 mycobiont species across 11 Nothofagus pumilio forests.
- Estimated cyanobiont richness, Simpson's diversity, and d' index to measure lichen specialization.
- Analyzed environmental gradients and spatial scales (local to regional) to identify drivers of Nostoc composition and specialization.
Main Results:
- Environmental factors significantly shaped Nostoc composition, impacting cyanobiont availability for symbiotic associations.
- Lichen specialization varied with spatial scale and the chosen metric; cyanolichens showed higher specialization than cephalolichens based on richness and Simpson's index.
- Larger spatial scales revealed decreased specialization due to increased cyanobiont richness, challenging assumptions about limited lichen distribution based on cyanobiont availability.
Conclusions:
- Specialization in lichen symbiosis is context-dependent, influenced by metric choice and spatial scale.
- Environmental filtering of cyanobionts plays a crucial role in shaping lichen community structure and specialization.
- Understanding specialization requires community-level analysis and consideration of broad spatial scales to capture ecological complexity.
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