Data from: Genetics-based interactions of foundation species affect community diversity, stability, and network structure

We examined the hypothesis that genetics-based interactions between strongly interacting foundation species, the tree Populus angustifolia and the aphid Pemphigus betae, affect arthropod community diversity, stability and species interaction networks of which little is known. In a 2-year experimental manipulation of the tree and its aphid herbivore four major findings emerged: (i) the interactions of these two species determined the composition of an arthropod community of 139 species; (ii) both tree genotype and aphid presence significantly predicted community diversity; (iii) the presence of aphids on genetically susceptible trees increased the stability of arthropod communities across years; and (iv) the experimental removal of aphids affected community network structure (network degree, modularity and tree genotype contribution to modularity). These findings demonstrate that the interactions of foundation species are genetically based, which in turn significantly contributes to community diversity, stability and species interaction networks. These experiments provide an important step in understanding the evolution of Darwin's ‘entangled bank’, a metaphor that characterizes the complexity and interconnectedness of communities in the wild.我们检验了这样一个假说：具有强相互作用的基础物种（foundation species）——窄叶杨（Populus angustifolia）与甜菜蚜（Pemphigus betae）之间基于遗传学的相互作用，会影响节肢动物群落多样性、群落稳定性以及物种互作网络——而学界此前对后者的了解甚少。在针对该树种及其蚜虫植食者开展的为期2年的操控性实验中，我们得到了四项核心发现：其一，这两个物种的相互作用决定了包含139个物种的节肢动物群落的组成；其二，杨树基因型与蚜虫的存在均能显著预测群落多样性；其三，在遗传易感型杨树上的蚜虫定植，可提升不同年份间节肢动物群落的稳定性；其四，实验移除蚜虫会改变群落网络结构，包括网络度、模块化程度以及杨树基因型对模块化的贡献度。这些研究结果表明，基础物种间的相互作用具有遗传基础，而这反过来又对群落多样性、群落稳定性以及物种互作网络产生显著影响。本系列实验为理解达尔文“纠缠之岸”这一隐喻的演化过程提供了重要进展——该隐喻恰如其分地描绘了野外群落的复杂性与互联性。