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JXB Advance Access first published online on June 15, 2009
This version published online on June 23, 2009
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erp168
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© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Darwin Review

Role of coevolution in generating biological diversity: spatially divergent selection trajectories

Anna-Liisa Laine1,2,*

1Department of Applied Biology, PO Box 27 (Latokartanonkaari 7), FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
2Metapopulation Research Group, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: anna-liisa.laine{at}helsinki.fi

The Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution predicts that divergent coevolutionary selection produces genetic differentiation across populations. The 29 studies reviewed here support this hypothesis as they all report spatially diverged selection trajectories which have generated variable outcomes in the interaction traits among populations. This holds for both mutualistic interactions such as those between host plants and their root symbionts, or plants and their pollinators, as well as for antagonistic interactions such as plants and their pathogens or herbivores. Most often, it is the strength of selection that varies across landscapes. Variation may be generated by both the physical environment (namely temperature), and the local community—competitors, parasites, and alternative hosts—that intensify or dilute selection locally for a wide range of species interactions. At its extreme, selection trajectories may be reversed with an antagonistic interaction being commensalistic in some populations and mutualistic in yet others, depending on the local community context. Selection trajectories were found to diverge among continents, but also more locally among neighbouring populations and even within a single population. This result highlights the importance of coevolutionary selection generating biological diversity with far-reaching implications for both biodiversity conservation as well as applied biology.

Key words: Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution, selection mosaic, spatial scale, species interactions

Received 4 March 2009; Revised 27 April 2009 Accepted 30 April 2009


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