Johnson Marc T J, Lajeunesse Marc J, Agrawal Anurag A
Ecol Lett. 2006 Jan;9(1):24-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00833.x.
Recent research suggests that genetic diversity in plant populations can shape the diversity and abundance of consumer communities. We tested this hypothesis in a field experiment by manipulating patches of Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) to contain one, four or eight plant genotypes. We then surveyed 92 species of naturally colonizing arthropods. Genetically diverse plant patches had 18% more arthropod species, and a greater abundance of omnivorous and predacious arthropods, but not herbivores, compared with monocultures. The effects of genotypic diversity on arthropod communities were due to a combination of interactive and additive effects among genotypes within genetically diverse patches. Greater genetic diversity also led to a selective feedback, as mean genotype fitness was 27% higher in diverse patches than in monocultures. A comparison between our results and the literature reveals that genetic diversity and species diversity can have similar qualitative and quantitative effects on arthropod communities. Our findings also illustrate the benefit of preserving genetic variation to conserve species diversity and interactions within multitrophic communities.
最近的研究表明，植物种群的遗传多样性能够塑造消费者群落的多样性和丰富度。我们在一项田间实验中对这一假设进行了验证，通过操控月见草（二年生月见草）斑块，使其包含一种、四种或八种植物基因型。然后，我们调查了92种自然定殖的节肢动物。与单一栽培相比，遗传多样性高的植物斑块节肢动物物种多18%，杂食性和捕食性节肢动物数量更多，但植食性节肢动物数量未增加。基因型多样性对节肢动物群落的影响是由遗传多样性斑块内基因型之间的交互作用和累加效应共同导致的。更高的遗传多样性还导致了一种选择性反馈，因为在多样性斑块中平均基因型适合度比单一栽培中高27%。将我们的结果与文献进行比较发现，遗传多样性和物种多样性对节肢动物群落可能具有相似的定性和定量影响。我们的研究结果还说明了保护遗传变异对于保护多营养群落内的物种多样性及相互作用的益处。
