The Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis revisited: contrasting latitudinal richness gradients in actively vs. passively accumulated interaction partners of honey bees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Contrasting hypotheses suggest that the number of biotic interactions per species could either increase towards the equator due to the increasing richness of potential interaction partners (Neutral theory), or decrease in the tropics due to increased biotic competition (Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis). Empirical testing of these hypotheses remains limited due to practical limitations, differences in methodology, and species turnover across latitudes. Here, we focus on a single species with a worldwide distribution, the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), to assess how the number of different types of interactions vary across latitudes. Foraging honey bees interact with many organisms in their local environment, including plants they actively select to visit and mic

SUBMITTER: Cirtwill AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11912709 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature