Non-random coextinctions in phylogenetically structured mutualistic networks

Enrico L. Rezende, Jessica E. Lavabre, Paulo R. Guimarães, Pedro Jordano and Jordi Bascompte ()
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Enrico L. Rezende: Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain
Jessica E. Lavabre: Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain
Paulo R. Guimarães: Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain
Pedro Jordano: Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain
Jordi Bascompte: Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain

Nature, 2007, vol. 448, issue 7156, 925-928

Abstract: United they fall Plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers form complex networks of interdependences. These networks have a well-defined architecture that strongly affects biodiversity maintenance. Using a phylogenetic approach, Rezende et al. show that past evolutionary history of plants and animals partly explains the network patterns. Closely related species tend to play similar roles in the network. As a result, coextinction cascades following a species extinction affect taxonomically related species, resulting in a non-random pruning of the evolutionary tree. From a conservation standpoint, this means that cascades of coextinction may spread across related species, further increasing the erosion of taxonomic diversity.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05956

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