Community Genetics

Abstract

Verdú, M. (2009). Community Genetics. Ecosistemas 18(1):17-22.

Studies on the processes driving the assembly of species in ecological communities have traditionally considered the species as units of study. However, there is a large amount of genotypic and phenotypic variation within species that can ultimately be decisive in the outcome of interactions with other species in the community. (competition, mutualism, etc..). It has recently been proposed a new community assembly rule suggesting that the genetic composition of a population affects the structure and composition of the community (i.e. the phenotype of the community). Supporting this assembly rule, several studies have shown that changes in the genetic diversity of plant populations produce predictable changes in their associated communities of herbivores and predators. Beyond the population view, the new discipline of community genetics is aimed to demonstrate 1) that the particular genotypes of some individuals are responsible for the phenotype of the community, 2) that the phenotype of the community is heritable and therefore 3) that communities evolve. After explaining these three concepts, I discuss the value that this approach may have from the conservation biology perspective.