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Science 21 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5772, pp. 431 - 433
DOI: 10.1126/science.1123412
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Reports

Asymmetric Coevolutionary Networks Facilitate Biodiversity Maintenance

Jordi Bascompte,1* Pedro Jordano,1 Jens M. Olesen2

The mutualistic interactions between plants and their pollinators or seed dispersers have played a major role in the maintenance of Earth's biodiversity. To investigate how coevolutionary interactions are shaped within species-rich communities, we characterized the architecture of an array of quantitative, mutualistic networks spanning a broad geographic range. These coevolutionary networks are highly asymmetric, so that if a plant species depends strongly on an animal species, the animal depends weakly on the plant. By using a simple dynamical model, we showed that asymmetries inherent in coevolutionary networks may enhance long-term coexistence and facilitate biodiversity maintenance.

1 Integrative Ecology Group, Estaciòn Biològica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientìficas, Apartado 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain.
2 Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 540, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bascompte{at}ebd.csic.es

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