Elisa Thébault

Publications (2)12.13 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: Nicolas Mouquet

  Article: Ecophylogenetics: advances and perspectives.

  Nicolas Mouquet, Vincent Devictor, Christine N Meynard, Francois Munoz, Louis-Félix Bersier, Jérôme Chave, Pierre Couteron, Ambroise Dalecky, Colin Fontaine, Dominique Gravel, [......], Sébastien Lavergne, Mathew Leibold, David Mouillot, Tamara Münkemüller, Sandrine Pavoine, Andreas Prinzing, Ana S L Rodrigues, Rudolf P Rohr, Elisa Thébault, Wilfried Thuiller
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  ABSTRACT: Ecophylogenetics can be viewed as an emerging fusion of ecology, biogeography and macroevolution. This new and fast-growing field is promoting the incorporation of evolution and historical contingencies into the ecological research agenda through the widespread use of phylogenetic data. Including phylogeny into ecological thinking represents an opportunity for biologists from different fields to collaborate and has provided promising avenues of research in both theoretical and empirical ecology, towards a better understanding of the assembly of communities, the functioning of ecosystems and their responses to environmental changes. The time is ripe to assess critically the extent to which the integration of phylogeny into these different fields of ecology has delivered on its promise. Here we review how phylogenetic information has been used to identify better the key components of species interactions with their biotic and abiotic environments, to determine the relationships between diversity and ecosystem functioning and ultimately to establish good management practices to protect overall biodiversity in the face of global change. We evaluate the relevance of information provided by phylogenies to ecologists, highlighting current potential weaknesses and needs for future developments. We suggest that despite the strong progress that has been made, a consistent unified framework is still missing to link local ecological dynamics to macroevolution. This is a necessary step in order to interpret observed phylogenetic patterns in a wider ecological context. Beyond the fundamental question of how evolutionary history contributes to shape communities, ecophylogenetics will help ecology to become a better integrative and predictive science.
  Biological Reviews 03/2012; 87(4):769-785. · 9.07 Impact Factor
• Article: Does asymmetric specialization differ between mutualistic and trophic networks?

  Elisa Thébault, Colin Fontaine
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  ABSTRACT: Recently, plant–pollinator networks have been found to be highly structured in a nested pattern in which specialists interact with generalist species. This structure is often assumed to be particular to mutualistic interactions in opposition to the compartmentalized pattern expected for antagonistic networks. We investigated the presence of asymmetric specialization in a data set assembled from the literature of 20 highly resolved plant–insect herbivore networks and compared them with 24 plant–pollinator networks. Our results indicate that these two types of networks differ, but not in the way it is generally assumed. Asymmetric specialization is present in plant–herbivore networks even if it appears less frequently than in plant–pollinator networks. Indeed, mean and median percentages of species showing asymmetric specialisation in herbivory webs are 33% and 14% respectively, compared to 57% and 60% in pollination webs. Furthermore, the amount of asymmetry is linked with species diversity and not to connectance in plant-pollinator networks whereas the opposite pattern is found in plant–herbivore networks. Our results offer promising perspectives for understanding both the mechanisms that structure ecological communities and their impact on community dynamics depending on the type of interaction.
  Oikos 03/2008; 117(4):555 - 563. · 3.06 Impact Factor