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Carbon allocation and competition maintain variation in plant root mutualisms
Christian, Natalie Bever, James D.
Christian, Natalie
Bever, James D.
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Abstract
Plants engage in multiple root symbioses that offer varying degrees of benefit. We
asked how variation in partner quality persists using a resource-ratio model of population growth. We considered the plant’s ability to preferentially allocate carbon to mutualists and competition for plant carbon between mutualist and nonmutualist
symbionts. We treated carbon as two nutritionally interchangeable, but temporally separated, resources—carbon allocated indiscriminately for the construction of the symbiosis, and carbon preferentially allocated to the mutualist after symbiosis establishment and assessment. This approach demonstrated that coexistence of mutualists and nonmutualists is possible when fidelity of the plant to the mutualist and the cost of mutualism mediate resource competition. Furthermore, it allowed us to trace symbiont population dynamics given varying degrees of carbon allocation. Specifically, coexistence occurs at intermediate levels of preferential allocation. Our findings are consistent with previous empirical studies as well the application of biological market theory to plantroot symbioses.
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Date
2018-05-04
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Publisher
Wiley Open Access
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Keywords
Biological Market Theory, Cheating, Preferential Allocation, resource competition, species coexistence
Citation
Christian N, Bever JD. Carbon
allocation and competition maintain variation in plant root
mutualisms. Ecol Evol. 2018;8:5792–5800. https://doi.
org/10.1002/ece3.4118