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John N Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to John N Thompson.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Asymmetries in specialization in ant-plant mutualistic networks.

Mutualistic networks involving plants and their pollinators or frugivores have been shown recently to exhibit a particular asymmetrical organization of interactions among species called nestedness: a core of reciprocal generalists accompanied by specialist species that interact almost exclusively with generalists. This structure contrasts with compartmentalized assemblage structures that have been verified in antagonistic food webs. Here we evaluated whether nestedness is a property of another type of mutualism-the interactions between ants and extrafloral nectary-bearing plants--and whether species richness may lead to differences in degree of nestedness among biological communities. We investigated network structure in four communities in Mexico. Nested patterns in ant-plant networks were very similar to those previously reported for pollination and frugivore systems, indicating that this form of asymmetry in specialization is a common feature of mutualisms between free-living species, but not always present in species-poor systems. Other ecological factors also appeared to contribute to the nested asymmetry in specialization, because some assemblages showed more extreme asymmetry than others even when species richness was held constant. Our results support a promising approach for the development of multispecies coevolutionary theory, leading to the idea that specialization may coevolve in different but simple ways in antagonistic and mutualistic assemblages.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2006

Cryptic species within the cosmopolitan desiccation-tolerant moss Grimmia laevigata.

The common cushion moss Grimmia laevigata (Bridel) Bridel grows on bare rock in a broad range of environments on every continent except Antarctica. As such, it must harbor adaptations to a remarkably broad set of environmental stresses, the extremes of which can include very high temperatures, prolonged nearly complete desiccation, and high ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure. Yet, like many mosses, G. laevigata shows very little morphological variability across its cosmopolitan range. This presents an evolutionary puzzle, the solution to which lies in understanding the phylogeographic structure of this morphologically simple organism. Here we report the results of an analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) in G. laevigata, focusing on individuals from the California Floristic Province. We found evidence that populations within California constitute two distinct geographically overlapping cryptic species. Each clade harbors multiple private alleles, indicating they have been genetically isolated for some time. We suggest that the existence of cryptic species within G. laevigata, in combination with its life history, growth habits, and extreme desiccation tolerance, makes this moss an ideal research tool and a candidate for a biological indicator of climate change and pollution.

Bryopsida↗
PubMed2006

Temporal dynamics of antagonism and mutualism in a geographically variable plant-insect interaction.

Variation among sites and years in the local ecological outcome of interspecific interactions can generate a geographic mosaic of coevolution, as indicated by recent mathematical models. We evaluated whether local temporal dynamics of ecological outcome in the interaction between the moth Greya politella (Prodoxidae) and its host plant Lithophragma parviflorum (Saxifragaceae) are likely to mitigate or magnify geographic differences in ecological outcome found in earlier studies. The moths are highly host-specific pollinating floral parasites, and the mutualism can be swamped in some populations by the presence of effective co-pollinators. Hence, differing community contexts can shift the outcome of the interaction from mutualism to commensalism or antagonism. During each of four years, we evaluated the effect of Greya oviposition on seed development through a paired design that controlled for plant genotype and microenvironment. At Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State, the interaction was significantly mutualistic in all four years. Mutualism in this population was indicated by a higher probability of development of capsules visited by ovipositing Greya than capsules not visited by Greya on the same plant. At Rapid River, Idaho, the interaction was commensalistic in three years and antagonistic in one year. Antagonism in this population was indicated by selective withering of capsules containing Greya eggs. Overall, the results suggest stable geographic differences in the range of ecological outcomes in this plant-insect interaction under different community contexts.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Adaptation varies through space and time in a coevolving host-parasitoid interaction.

One of the central challenges of evolutionary biology is to understand how coevolution organizes biodiversity over complex geographic landscapes. Most species are collections of genetically differentiated populations, and these populations have the potential to become adapted to their local environments in different ways. The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution incorporates this idea by proposing that spatial variation in natural selection and gene flow across a landscape can shape local coevolutionary dynamics. These effects may be particularly strong when populations differ across productivity gradients, where gene flow will often be asymmetric among populations. Conclusive empirical tests of this theory have been particularly difficult to perform because they require knowledge of patterns of gene flow, historical population relationships and local selection pressures. We have tested these predictions empirically using a model community of bacteria and bacteriophage (viral parasitoids of bacteria). We show that gene flow across a spatially structured landscape alters coevolution of parasitoids and their hosts and that the resulting patterns of adaptation can fluctuate in both space and time.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2003

Patterns of molecular evolution and diversification in a biodiversity hotspot: the California Floristic Province.

The California Floristic Province harbours more endemic plant and animal taxa and more identifiable subspecies than any other area of comparable size in North America. We present evidence that physical historical processes have resulted in congruent patterns of genetic diversity over the past 2-10 million years. Using a molecular clock approach we show that diversification and establishment of spatial genetic structure across six taxonomic groups coincide with the putative age of California's mountain ranges and aridification in the region. Our results demonstrate the importance of geographical barriers and climatological events to species diversification and the overall geographical structure of biodiversity. These results should facilitate conservation efforts in this biodiversity hotspot for taxa whose population genetic structure is still unknown and may suggest the potential utility of this approach in regional conservation planning efforts.

California↗
PubMed2003

Coevolution in variable mutualisms.

Many mutualistic interactions are probably not mutualistic across all populations and years. This article explores consequences of this observation with a series of genetic models that consider how variable mutualisms coevolve. The first models, previously introduced in a general coevolutionary context, consider two coevolving species whose fitness interactions change between beneficial and antagonistic in response to independent spatial or temporal variation in the abiotic or biotic environment. The results demonstrate that both temporal and spatial variability in fitness interactions can cause partner species with tightly matched traits favored by unconditional mutualisms to be vulnerable to evolutionary invasion by alternative types. A new model presented here shows that an additional mutualistic species can have a similar effect and can even cause fitness interactions between the other two species to evolve. Under some conditions, the pairwise interactions can change unidirectionally from mutualistic to antagonistic, with virtually no evolutionary change in either partner species. In other cases, fitness interactions between the species pair can oscillate between mutualism and antagonism as a result of coevolution in the third species. Taken as a whole, these theoretical results suggest that many features of mutualistic coevolution can best be understood by considering spatial, temporal, and community-dependent patterns of fitness interactions.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed2002

Geographic structure and dynamics of coevolutionary selection.

Coevolution of species is one of the major processes organizing the Earth's biodiversity. Recent coevolutionary theory has indicated that the geographic structure of species has the potential to impose powerful and continuing effects on coevolutionary dynamics, if that structure creates selection mosaics and coevolutionary hotspots across landscapes. Here we confirm that current coevolutionary selection in interspecific interactions can be highly divergent across both narrow and broad geographic scales, thereby fueling continuing coevolution of taxa. Study of a widespread plant insect interaction across a broad range of habitats for several years showed that an insect functioning both as a pollinator and a floral parasite can be strongly mutualistic in some habitats but commensal or antagonistic in neighbouring habitats. The results for one of the habitats span seven years, demonstrating that the local structure of coevolutionary selection can remain stable across multiple generations. Conservation of the evolutionary processes maintaining long-term biological diversity may require preservation of the conditions that allow a long-term shifting geographic mosaic of coevolutionary hotspots and coldspots.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Hot Spots, Cold Spots, and the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution.

Species interactions commonly coevolve as complex geographic mosaics of populations shaped by differences in local selection and gene flow. We use a haploid matching-alleles model for coevolution to evaluate how a pair of species coevolves when fitness interactions are reciprocal in some locations ("hot spots") but not in others ("cold spots"). Our analyses consider mutualistic and antagonistic interspecific interactions and a variety of gene flow patterns between hot and cold spots. We found that hot and cold spots together with gene flow influence coevolutionary dynamics in four important ways. First, hot spots need not be ubiquitous to have a global influence on evolution, although rare hot spots will not have a disproportionate impact unless selection is relatively strong there. Second, asymmetries in gene flow can influence local adaptation, sometimes creating stable equilibria at which species experience minimal fitness in hot spots and maximal fitness in cold spots, or vice versa. Third, asymmetries in gene flow are no more important than asymmetries in population regulation for determining the maintenance of local polymorphisms through coevolution. Fourth, intraspecific allele frequency differences among hot and cold spot populations evolve under some, but not all, conditions. That is, selection mosaics are indeed capable of producing spatially variable coevolutionary outcomes across the landscapes over which species interact. Altogether, our analyses indicate that coevolutionary trajectories can be strongly shaped by the geographic distribution of coevolutionary hot and cold spots, and by the pattern of gene flow among populations.

antagonism↗