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The ecological causes of individual specialisation.
Ecol Lett. 2011 Sep; 14(9):948-58
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26 Aug 2011
Confirmation, Review / Commentary, Technical Advance
DOI: 10.3410/f.12937957.14233055
Did you know that the ecological dynamics and evolutionary trajectories of generalist populations composed of generalist individuals might be quite different from those of generalist populations composed of specialized individuals? In other words, two populations with the same levels of niche variation...Continue reading
Did you know that the ecological dynamics and evolutionary trajectories of generalist populations composed of generalist individuals might be quite different from those of generalist populations composed of specialized individuals? In other words, two populations with the same levels of niche variation may have completely different population dynamics and affect their communities in different ways all depending on how specialist their individuals are. The authors provide a great review of the empirical evidence showing that the levels of individual specialization vary among different populations of the same species, and of this variation and the different ecological mechanisms that can lead to different levels of individual specialization within populations.
It is well accepted that many current approaches do not look into the levels of intraspecific variation within populations and how this variation may lead to important ecological consequences for the populations and communities in which this variation occurs. In many cases there is lack of data but in others it is simply a matter of measuring how specialized individuals are within populations (e.g. {1,2}). The authors' review of the ecological mechanisms that may lead to 'individual specialization' will certainly motivate and help ecologists to think in this direction. Note, however, that many challenges lie ahead. The same mechanism (e.g., intraspecific competition) may either increase or decrease the levels of individual specialization, depending on particular conditions, such as resource variation and phenotypic variance in rank preference. Therefore, inferring process from pattern may still prove challenging and require a great deal of further data collection and experimentation than one would hope from the available data on individual specialization. Finally, I am hoping that their work will also motivate ecologists to think about the ecological and evolutionary consequences of how differences among populations regarding their levels of individual specialization will play out in metapopulation and metacommunity settings.
It is well accepted that many current approaches do not look into the levels of intraspecific variation within populations and how this variation may lead to important ecological consequences for the populations and communities in which this variation occurs. In many cases there is lack of data but in others it is simply a matter of measuring how specialized individuals are within populations (e.g. {1,2}). The authors' review of the ecological mechanisms that may lead to 'individual specialization' will certainly motivate and help ecologists to think in this direction. Note, however, that many challenges lie ahead. The same mechanism (e.g., intraspecific competition) may either increase or decrease the levels of individual specialization, depending on particular conditions, such as resource variation and phenotypic variance in rank preference. Therefore, inferring process from pattern may still prove challenging and require a great deal of further data collection and experimentation than one would hope from the available data on individual specialization. Finally, I am hoping that their work will also motivate ecologists to think about the ecological and evolutionary consequences of how differences among populations regarding their levels of individual specialization will play out in metapopulation and metacommunity settings.
References
1.
Network analysis reveals contrasting effects of intraspecific competition on individual vs. population diets.
Ecology 2008 Jul; 7(89):1981-93
PMID: 18705384
2.
Intraspecific variability and trait-based community assembly.
J Ecol 2010 Jul 02; 98(5): 1134-40
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01687.x
Disclosures
None declared
Add Comment
Peres-Neto P: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Araújo MS et al., Ecol Lett 2011, 14(9):948-58]. In F1000Prime, 26 Aug 2011; DOI: 10.3410/f.12937957.14233055. F1000Prime.com/12937957#eval14233055
16 Dec 2011
Review / Commentary
DOI: 10.3410/f.12937957.14779072
Ecologists commonly focus on the mean -- we measure, contrast, and run our statistics on means; these authors point out that the variance among individuals is also critical, and that this variance matters. A 'mean' human has one testicle and one functional breast, but we would miss much critical bio behavior...Continue reading
Ecologists commonly focus on the mean -- we measure, contrast, and run our statistics on means; these authors point out that the variance among individuals is also critical, and that this variance matters. A 'mean' human has one testicle and one functional breast, but we would miss much critical biology, behavior and ecology if we knew this mean but not the variance underlying it. Although it has been clear for 30 years that generalist populations could be composed of multiple specialist phenotypes (see {1}), these authors argue that ecologists have only recently started focusing on the causes generating this variance and its ecological importance.
References
Disclosures
None declared
Hay M: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Araújo MS et al., Ecol Lett 2011, 14(9):948-58]. In F1000Prime, 16 Dec 2011; DOI: 10.3410/f.12937957.14779072. F1000Prime.com/12937957#eval14779072
F1000Prime Recommendations, Dissents and Comments for [Araújo MS et al., Ecol Lett 2011, 14(9):948-58]. In F1000Prime, 18 May 2013; F1000Prime.com/12937957
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Many generalist populations are composed of specialised individuals, whose niches are small subsets of the population niche. This 'individual specialisation' is a widespread phenomenon in natural populations, but until recently few studies quantified the magnitude of individual specialisation and how this magnitude varies among populations or contexts. Such quantitative approaches are necessary for us to understand how ecological interactions influence the amount of among-individual variation, and how the amount of variation might affect ecological dynamics. Herein, we review recent studies of individual specialisation, emphasising the novel insights arising from quantitative measures of diet variation. Experimental and comparative studies have confirmed long-standing theoretical expectations that the magnitude of among-individual diet variation depends on the level of intra and interspecific competition, ecological opportunity and predation. In contrast, there is little empirical information as to how individual specialisation affects community dynamics. We discuss some emerging methodological issues as guidelines for researchers studying individual specialisation, and make specific recommendations regarding avenues for future research.
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01662.x
PMID: 21790933
