PCI Ecology

399

Title

Comment on “Information arms race explains plant-herbivore chemical communication in ecological communities”use asterix (*) to get italics

Authors

Ethan Bass, André KesslerPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"

Year

2022

Picture

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">Zu et al (Science, 19 Jun 2020, p. 1377) propose that an ‘information arms-race’ between plants and herbivores explains plant-herbivore communication at the community level. However, the analysis presented here shows that key assumptions of the proposed model either a) conflict with standard evolutionary theory or b) with our current understanding of plant-insect interactions and phytochemical evolution. We investigate whether specific conditional information might be more suitable as a fitness proxy than the community averages proposed by Zu et al. Finally, we show that the presented statistical patterns can be explained more parsimoniously (e.g. through a null model) without invoking an unlikely process of community selection.</p>

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Keywords

plant-herbivore coevolution, coevolutionary arms-race, chemical information, chemical language, secondary metabolism, volatile organic compounds

Methods that require specific expertise (optional)

NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).

Thematic fields

Chemical ecology, Community ecology, Eco-evolutionary dynamics, Evolutionary ecology, Herbivory, Interaction networks, Theoretical ecology

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Submission date

2021-10-02 06:06:07

Recommender

Rodrigo Medel

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