Tesis
Structure of complex networks and the role of spatial variations and abundance in plant-ant interactions
Fecha
2012-03-14Registro en:
CRUZ, Wesley Francisco Dáttilo da. Structure of complex networks and the role of spatial variations and abundance in plant-ant interactions. 2012. 96 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade) - Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Instituto de Biociências, Cuiabá, 2012.
Autor
Izzo, Thiago Junqueira
Guimarães Junior, Paulo Roberto
http://lattes.cnpq.br/9619030543047007
http://lattes.cnpq.br/7106236848048146
Izzo, Thiago Junqueira
276.712.688-44
http://lattes.cnpq.br/7106236848048146
Almeida Neto, Mário
960.497.406-82
http://lattes.cnpq.br/1000297113793647
276.712.688-44
Mello, Fernando Zagury Vaz de
074.858.417-00
http://lattes.cnpq.br/0676101131499422
Penha, Jerry Magno Ferreira
346.478.721-49
http://lattes.cnpq.br/8722291577415644
Institución
Resumen
The structural organization of mutualism networks provides insights into
processes shaping biodiversity. Understanding the mechanisms that shape this organization
is essential for us to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of the interacting
species. Recent studies have suggested that species abundance is one of the most
fundamental criteria shaping mutualistic networks. However, the role of species abundance
on mutualistic networks is still unclear. Moreover, only recently has the spatial effect been
incorporated as a mechanism structuring mutualistic networks. In this work I studied plants
with extrafloral nectaries and associated ants to show that the natural abundance of ants on
vegetation explained just a part of the frequency of mutualistic interactions and that it is
independent of ant species compositions. In addition, the generalist core of these networks
interacts more among themselves than expected by their abundances. This generalist core
was formed by competitively superior ants that have behavioral and ecophysiological traits
to use liquid food and are that exclude other species from the same resource. I also showed
that even the fact that ant and plant composition of networks changes over space, the
generalist core species and the topological structure of networks remain unaltered. This
finding indicates that independently of local and landscape environmental factors the
nonrandom pattern of community organization is not changed. Such generalist core
conformation being stable over space and time could have serious implications on
coevolutionary process of the system. In short, contributing thus to our understanding of
the maintenance of biodiversity.