Latitudinal gradient in species diversity provides high niche opportunities for a range-expanding phytophagous insect
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract When species undergo poleward range expansions in response to anthropogenic change, they likely encounter less diverse communities in new locations. If low diversity communities provide weak biotic interactions, such as reduced competition for resources or predation, range-expanding species may experience ‘high niche opportunities.’ Here, we uncover if oak gall wasp communities experience a latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) and weaker interactions at the poles that might create high niche opportunities for a range-expanding community member. We performed systematic surveys of oak gall wasps on a dominant oak, Quercus garryana , throughout most of its range, from northern California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. On 540 trees at 18 sites, we identified 23 species in three guilds (leaf detachable, leaf integral, and stem galls). We performed regressions between oak gall wasp diversity, latitude, and other abiotic and habitat factors to reveal if cynipid communities follow an LDG. To uncover patterns in local interactions, we performed partial correlations on oak gall wasps co-occurring on trees within regions. Finally, we performed regressions between abundances of co-occurring gall wasps on trees to reveal potential interactions. Q. garryana-gall wasp communities followed an LDG, with lower diversity at higher latitudes, particularly with a loss of detachable leaf gall species. Detachable leaf gall wasps, including the range-expanding species, co-occurred most on trees and had weak interactions in the northern region. Abundances of the range-expander and detachable and integral leaf galls co-occurring on trees were negatively related, suggesting antagonistic interactions. Overall, we found that LDGs create communities with weaker antagonistic interactions at the poles that might facilitate ecological release in a range-expanding community member. Here, we uncover how regional and local scale patterns and processes create high niche opportunities for a range-expanding community member. This research provides insight into how biogeographical patterns in communities and species interactions influence the outcome of range expansions. Given the ubiquity of LDGs, these outcomes might be expected in other phytophagous insect communities.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".