Beyond ectomycorrhizal bipartite networks: projected networks demonstrate contrasted patterns between early- and late-successional plants in Corsica.

ABSTRACT: The ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis connects mutualistic plants and fungal species into bipartite networks. While links between one focal ECM plant and its fungal symbionts have been widely documented, systemic views of ECM networks are lacking, in particular, concerning the ability of fungal species to mediate indirect ecological interactions between ECM plant species (projected-ECM networks). We assembled a large dataset of plant-fungi associations at the species level and at the scale of Corsica using molecular data and unambiguously host-assigned records to: (i) examine the correlation between the number of fungal symbionts of a plant species and the average specialization of these fungal species, (ii) explore the structure of the plant-plant projected network and (iii) compare plant a

SUBMITTER: Taudiere A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4612159 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature