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Science Forum Index » Bio Evolution Forum » Paper: Process rather than pattern - finding pine...
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| Robert Karl Stonjek... |
 Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:04 am |
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Process rather than pattern: finding pine needles in the coevolutionary
haystack
David R Nash
Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of
Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Journal of Biology 2008, 7:14doi:10.1186/jbiol75
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found
online at: http://jbiol.com/content/7/5/14
Published: 28 May 2008
© 2008 BioMed Central Ltd
Abstract
The geographic mosaic theory is fast becoming a unifying framework for
coevolutionary studies. A recent experimental study of interactions between
pines and mycorrhizal fungi in BMC Biology is the first to rigorously test
geographical selection mosaics, one of the cornerstones of the theory.
Minireview
Coevolution is a powerful concept in biology. It explains why cheetahs run
fast, and why gazelles run fast too [1]. It explains why the flowers of some
orchids have extraordinarily long spurs to store their nectar, and why the
moths that pollinate them have extraordinarily long tongues to drink it [2].
It explains why we don't all succumb to diseases, and why diseases still
exist [3]. Most evolutionary change may well be coevolutionary change [4].
How coevolution actually works is far from clear, however, if one looks into
it in any depth. How is the genetic variation that is the raw material of
coevolution, or any other sort of evolution for that matter, maintained when
faster or longer is always better? How can genetically homogeneous
populations attacked by pathogens survive long enough to mount a
coevolutionary response? The answers may lie in the fact that the world is
not made up of single populations of organisms freely exchanging genes.
Instead, populations are not the same everywhere, and interactions between
organisms are not the same everywhere. As is clear from our own species'
experience with its coevolving pathogens [5], things vary geographically.
It was thinking about such questions over the past two decades that led John
Thompson to propose his geographic mosaic theory of coevolution [6,7].
Although this theory has been widely discussed and has become a unifying
framework for many coevolutionary studies, it is still often misunderstood
[8]. That there are differences between how organisms interact at different
spots on Earth is, in itself, a fairly trivial observation, but Thompson's
big idea is that without those differences, there would be no coevolution.
The geographic mosaic drives coevolution, rather than being merely a
consequence of the fragmentation of interacting populations. Pattern and
process are quite distinct in the theory, but they are often confused in
practice. It is significant that Thompson's book The Coevolutionary Process
[6], which first brought his theory to most of the scientific community,
emphasizes process rather than pattern. The processes underlying the
geographic mosaic theory of coevolution are difficult to test
experimentally, but a new study in BMC Biology [9] of pines and their
mycorrhizal fungi, provides the first experimental support for one of the
key processes.
Source: Journal of Biology [Open Access Paper]
http://jbiol.com/content/7/5/14
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek |
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