Plant-microbe specificity varies as a function of elevation.

ABSTRACT: Specialized associations between interacting species fundamentally determine the diversity and distribution of both partners. How the specialization of guilds of organisms varies along environmental gradients underpins popular theories of biogeography and macroecology, whereas the degree of specialization of a species is typically considered fixed. However, the extent to which environmental context impacts specialization dynamics is seldom examined empirically. In this study, we examine how specialization within a bipartite network consisting of three co-occurring plant species and their foliar fungal endophyte symbionts changes along a 1000-meter elevation gradient where host species were held constant. The gradient, along the slope of Mauna Loa shield volcano, represents almost the entir

SUBMITTER: Cobian GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6794252 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature