Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 22 June 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5832, pp. 1746 - 1748
DOI: 10.1126/science.1143082
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Influence of Phylogeny on Fungal Community Assembly and Ecosystem Functioning

Hafiz Maherali* and John N. Klironomos*

Ecology seeks to explain species coexistence and its functional consequences, but experimental tests of mechanisms that simultaneously account for both processes are difficult. We used an experimental mycorrhizal plant system to test whether functional similarity among closely related species (phylogenetic conservatism) can drive community assembly and ecosystem functioning. Communities were constructed with the same number of fungal species, but after 1 year of growth, realized species richness was highest where the starting species were more distantly related to each other. Communities with high realized species richness also stimulated plant productivity more than those with low realized species richness. Our findings suggest that phylogenetic trait conservatism can promote coexistence because of reduced competition between distinct evolutionary lineages and enhance ecosystem function because of functional complementarity among those same lineages.

Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jklirono{at}uoguelph.ca (J.N.K.); maherali{at}uoguelph.ca (H.M.)

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Phylogenetic trait conservatism and the evolution of functional trade-offs in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
J. R. Powell, J. L. Parrent, M. M. Hart, J. N. Klironomos, M. C. Rillig, and H. Maherali (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 4237-4245
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Inhospitable sweetness: nectar filtering of pollinator-borne inocula leads to impoverished, phylogenetically clustered yeast communities.
C. M. Herrera, A. Canto, M. I. Pozo, and P. Bazaga (2009)
Proc R Soc B
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi reduce effects of physiological integration in Trifolium repens.
J. Du, F.-H. Yu, P. Alpert, and M. Dong (2009)
Ann. Bot. 104, 335-344
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evolutionary history and the effect of biodiversity on plant productivity.
M. W. Cadotte, B. J. Cardinale, and T. H. Oakley (2008)
PNAS 105, 17012-17017
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Human selection and the relaxation of legume defences against ineffective rhizobia.
E. T. Kiers, M. G Hutton, and R. F. Denison (2007)
Proc R Soc B 274, 3119-3126
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)