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Historical Context of Symbiosis Darwin ? de Bary (1879) Symbiosis and mutualism

Historical Context of Symbiosis Darwin ? de Bary (1879) Symbiosis and mutualism. Unifying Concepts of Symbiosis 1. Symbiotic interactions have been, and are, an important feature of the biotic environment. 2. Context of symbiotic interactions is complex

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Historical Context of Symbiosis Darwin ? de Bary (1879) Symbiosis and mutualism

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  1. Historical Context of Symbiosis • Darwin ? • de Bary (1879) • Symbiosis and mutualism

  2. Unifying Concepts of Symbiosis 1. Symbiotic interactions have been, and are, an important feature of the biotic environment

  3. 2. Context of symbiotic interactions is complex • Plasmodium/mosquitoes/bacteria/humans • figs and their pollinators • aphid/ant interactions 3. Most of world’s biodiversity is composed of specialists.

  4. Distribution of specialists • 50 % of all species are parasitic (Price, 1980) • in at least 4 fungi families, all species are mycorrhizal • 80% of all British fungi are mycorrhizal • 21% of all fungi form lichen associations • 13/30 animal phyla have taxa with chronic endosymbionts • e.g. 162 specialist beetles on one tropical plant (Erwin, 1982) • 50% of 3142 species of caterpillars and moths feed on one plant species (Janzen, 1988) • fungi, nematodes and mites ? • 98% of tropical flowering plants rely on animals for pollination or dispersal of seeds • 100% of trees in some tropical lowlands have fleshy fruits

  5. 4. Symbiotic interactions fit somewhere on an antagonistic/cooperation continuum. 5. The outcomes of symbiotic interactions are context-dependent. • Trypanosomes in ground squirrels • Amphibian declines and pathogens • Immunity vs. malnutrition vs. infection

  6. 6. Symbionts face three basic ‘problems’ that must be solved for R > 0. • Finding a host • Staying in a host • Reproduction/dispersal

  7. 7. Most major questions in the study of symbiosis have anthropogenic applications. 8. Co-evolution is a major process by which symbioses are formed, are maintained, and change over time.

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