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Citation for Study 14604

About Citation title: "Mutualistic mimicry and filtering by altitude shape the structure of Andean butterfly communities".
About Study name: "Mutualistic mimicry and filtering by altitude shape the structure of Andean butterfly communities".
About This study is part of submission 14604 (Status: Published).

Citation

Chazot N., Willmott K.R., Santacruz endara P.G., Toporov A., Hill R.I., Jiggins C.D., & Elias M. 2013. Mutualistic mimicry and filtering by altitude shape the structure of Andean butterfly communities. The American Naturalist, .

Authors

  • Chazot N. (submitter) Phone +33 1 40 79 37 90
  • Willmott K.R.
  • Santacruz endara P.G.
  • Toporov A.
  • Hill R.I.
  • Jiggins C.D.
  • Elias M.

Abstract

Both the abiotic environment and interactions among species contribute to shaping species assemblages. While the role of habitat filtering and competitive interactions is clearly established, less is known about how positive interactions, whereby species benefit from the presence of one another, affect community structure. Here we assess the importance of positive interactions by studying Andean communities of butterflies that interact mutualistically via M?llerian mimicry. We show that communities at similar altitudes have a similar phylogenetic composition, confirming that filtering by altitude is an important process. We also provide evidence that species that interact mutualistically (i.e., species sharing the same mimicry wing pattern) co-exist at large scales more often than expected by chance. Furthermore, we detect an association between mimicry structure and altitude stronger than expected even when phylogeny is corrected for, indicating adaptive convergence for wing pattern and/or altitudinal range driven by mutualistic interactions. Positive interactions extend far beyond M?llerian mimicry, with many examples in plants and animals, and their role in the evolution and assembly of communities may be more pervasive than is currently appreciated. Our findings have strong implications for the evolution and resilience of community structure in a changing world.

Keywords

community ecology, altitudinal gradient, M?llerian mimicry, phylogenetic structure, Ithomiini, Andes

External links

About this resource

  • Canonical resource URI: http://purl.org/phylo/treebase/phylows/study/TB2:S14604
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