Important Definitions
Define antagonism.
Name 3 of Bronstein's 5 questions / topics of mutualism and facilitation.
1) evolution of traits
2) specialization vs. generalization
3) evolutionary origins and maintenance
4) co-evolution
5) cheating
Classify as mutualistic, facilitative, or both: A bee pollinates a flower and gets nectar and pollen.
Mutualistic only
Which experimental group had the highest seedling emergence and recruitment?
Pollinators present, herbivores absent
Pollinators, herbivores spreading seeds, remoras clinging to multiple fish, etc
Define mutualism and provide one example of a mutualistic relationship.
A relationship between two species where both species benefit; can occur across trophic levels and distances.
Possible examples: plants and their pollinators, ants and aphids, anemones and clownfish, etc
Which mutualistic traits are the most well-studied?
Plant traits involving attracting and rewarding pollinators / seed dispersers
Classify as mutualistic, facilitative, or both: A mouse eats the fruit of a plant and disperses its seeds.
Mutualistic only
Herbivores preferred the plants with these traits.
Abundant open flowers and / or developing fruits
Give an example of a specialized mutualistic adaptation.
Long tongue of the Darwin's hawk moth, clownfish being resistant to anemones, etc
Define facilitation and provide one example of a facilitative relationship (doesn't have to be mutualistic).
A relationship between two species in a local setting where one species alters the environment in a way that affects the other species. Usual definition requires species to be on the same trophic level.
How do plants vs. animals tend to specialize their traits in mutualisms?
Plants tend to specialize to offer more nutritionally valuable rewards which are better protected from poorer mutualists; animals tend to specialize their diets to rely more heavily on their mutualistic partner.
Classify as mutualistic, facilitative, or both: Ants farm aphids by collecting honeydew from them while protecting them from predators.
Both mutualistic and facilitative
Which year(s) had significant effects of pollinators and herbivores?
Only 2001: not 1999 or 2000
How does climate change put mutualistic organisms, particularly specialized ones, at risk?
Specialized species may be very dependent on each other; if one species is threatened, other species with which it maintains mutualistic relationships are also threatened.
Define non-additivity and explain how it is relevant to today's paper.
When the combined effects that two different traits or interactions have on an organism's fitness is not equal to the sum of their effects on their own.
This study: observed non-additivity in the effects of the presence of both herbivores and pollinators on plant fitness.
Name one of the two potential co-evolutionary routes which can be theorized in antagonistic facilitation.
1) Facilitator species experiences selection for traits that increase its tolerance to facilitated species, potentially leading to a commensal facilitative relationship
2) Facilitated species experiences selection for traits that increase ability to gain advantage, while facilitator species experiences selection for traits that increase ability to escape (eg. defenses)
Classify as mutualistic, facilitative, or both: Two flowering plants grow next to each other, both attracting a range of pollinators.
Both mutualistic and facilitative
Number of fruits eaten by mice was higher for plants growing under these conditions:
When plants were exposed to pollinators
Predator-prey, competition, antagonism, parasitism
Define correlational selection and its relationship to non-additivity.
When combinations of different traits are selected for in correlation to one another. Relies on non-additivity because the fitness effect from having both traits must be greater than the effects of the traits on their own for selection to work this way.
In non-mutualistic facilitative relationships, why would facilitation originate in the facilitated species rather than the facilitator species?
Because individuals of the facilitated species with traits that allow them to more easily take advantage of the altered environment made by the facilitator species are more likely to thrive, which increases selection pressure.
Classify as mutualistic, facilitative, or both: Mycorrhizal networks of a tree leave excess nutrients in the soil and a nearby tree of a different species absorbs these nutrients.
Facilitative only
Give an example of a trait that is both mutualism-linked and antagonism-linked.
Main 3 we're looking for: UV pigments, anthocyanins, and resins
Eco-evo research could advance research into facilitative and mutualistic relationships because...
It focuses on the phylogeny and co-evolution of species, and most prior research has been purely from an ecological perspective