Data from: Multi-scale and antagonist selection on life-history traits in parasitoids: a community ecology perspective

1) Life-history traits within ecological communities can be influenced by regional environmental conditions (external filters) and community-wide density-dependent processes (internal filters). While traits in a regional context may converge to a narrow range of values because of environmental filtering, species belonging to a guild may present contrasting traits as a means of niche differentiation, allowing coexistence whilst exploiting the same resources. 2) To disentangle the role of external and internal filters on phenotypic diversity within ecological communities, we examined the patterns of life-history trait variation within a guild of insect parasitoids during two successive years across three contrasted regions in relation to several ecological factors. 3) By combining a mean-field approach and an analysis of phenotypic variance across organizational levels (from individual to guild), we showed that the patterns of life-history trait variation across regions are consistent with local adaptation or adaptive phenotypic plasticity while the patterns of phenotypic variation within regions suggested how coexistence modulates life-history traits expression through niche differentiation. 4) Within a given region, phenotypic pattern of parasitoid life-history traits may also arise from bottom-up effects of trophic webs: insect host species could also control parasitoid life-history traits in nature. Our results also showed that parasitoid life-history traits presented contrasting variation patterns according to the sampling year, suggesting temporal variations in evolutionary and ecological dynamics of parasitoid species. 5) The application of such trait-based studies to insect parasitoids has the potential to provide further insight on how agricultural environments contribute to differential diversification among natural enemies guilds, highlighting the main role of agricultural landscape management for organisms' responses.

1) 生态群落内的生活史性状（life-history traits）可受两类因子调控：一是区域环境条件，即外部过滤因子（external filters）；二是群落水平密度依赖过程，即内部过滤因子（internal filters）。尽管环境过滤作用下，区域尺度的性状值会收敛至较窄范围，但某一功能群（guild）内的物种可能呈现出截然不同的性状，以此实现生态位分化，在共享相同资源的前提下维持物种共存。2) 为厘清外部与内部过滤因子对生态群落表型多样性的调控作用，我们针对两个连续年份、三个差异显著的区域内的寄生蜂（insect parasitoids）功能群，结合多种生态因子分析了其生活史性状的变异模式。3) 通过结合平均场方法（mean-field approach）与跨组织层次（从个体到功能群）的表型方差分析，我们发现：区域间的生活史性状变异模式符合本地适应或适应性表型可塑性的特征；而区域内的表型变异模式则揭示了物种共存如何通过生态位分化调控生活史性状的表达。4) 在特定区域内，寄生蜂生活史性状的表型模式也可能源于食物网（trophic webs）的上行效应（bottom-up effects）：自然界中昆虫寄主物种同样可调控寄生蜂的生活史性状。我们的研究结果还显示，寄生蜂生活史性状的变异模式因采样年份而异，这表明寄生物种种群的进化与生态动态存在时间尺度上的变异。5) 此类基于性状的研究应用于寄生蜂类群，有望进一步阐明农业环境如何推动天敌功能群（natural enemies guilds）的差异化多样化进程，凸显农业景观管理对生物响应的核心调控作用。