Generalism in species interactions is more the consequence than the cause of ecological success

Pilar Hurtado, Gregorio Aragón, Marina Vicente, Bo Dalsgaard, Boris R. Krasnov, Joaquín Calatayud

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Generalism in resource use is commonly considered a critical driver of population success, species distribution and extinction risk. This idea can be questioned as generalism may be a result rather than the cause of species abundance and range size. We tested these contrasting causal hypotheses focusing on host use in three databases encompassing approximately 44,000 mutualistic (hummingbird–plant), commensalistic (lichen–plant) and parasitic (flea–mammal) interactions in 617 ecological communities across the Americas and Eurasia. Across all interaction types, our analyses indicated that range size and abundance influence the probability of encountering hosts and set the arena for species to express generalism potentials or adapt to new hosts. Hence, our findings support the hypothesis that generalism is a consequence of species ecological success. This highlights the importance of ecological opportunity in driving species characteristics considered key for their survival and conservation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1602-1611
Number of pages10
JournalNature Ecology and Evolution
Volume8
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Ecology

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