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Adaptation and Latitudinal Gradients in Species Interactions: Nest Predation in Birds
Ist Teil von
The American naturalist, 2020-12, Vol.196 (6), p.E160-E166
Ort / Verlag
United States: The University of Chicago Press
Erscheinungsjahr
2020
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
University of Chicago Press Journals
Beschreibungen/Notizen
Are biotic interactions stronger in the tropics? Here, we investigate nest predation in birds, a canonical example of a strong tropical biotic interaction. Counter to expectations, daily rates of nest predation vary minimally with latitude. However, life-history traits that influence nest predation have diverged between latitudes. For example, tropical species have evolved a longer average nesting period, which is associated with reduced rates of nest attendance by parents. Daily nest mortality declines with nesting period length within regions, but tropical species have a higher intercept. Consequently, for the same nesting period length, tropical species experience higher daily nest predation rates than temperate species. The implication of this analysis is that the evolved difference in nesting period length between latitudes produces a flatter latitudinal gradient in daily nest predation than would otherwise be predicted. We propose that adaptation may frequently dampen geographic patterns in interaction rates.