Mutualism: What Do We Know, and Where Do We Go From Here?

Judie Bronstein

University of Arizona, Tucson, USA judieb@email.arizona.edu

(Talk in English)

In this talk, I review the checkered history of the study of mutualism (cooperative interactions between species), a field that has only coalesced in the past twenty years. I will identify six major research directions, then present our own recent work on hawkmoth-plant relationships to show how these directions can be integrated to move our understanding forward. I conclude by discussing pressing issues surrounding mutualism that are likely to drive the field in the coming years.

Recent publications:

• Bronstein, J.L. (editor) 2015. Mutualism. Oxford University Press, NY
• Jones, E.I., M.E. Afkhami, E. Akcay, J.L. Bronstein, R. Bshary, M.E. Frederickson, K.D. Heath, J. Hoeksema, J.H. Ness, S. Pankey, S.S. Porter, J.L. Sachs, K. Scharnagl, and M.L. Friesen. (2015) Cheaters must prosper: reconciling theoretical and empirical perspectives on cheating in mutualism. Ecology Letters 18: 1270-1284
• Chamberlain, S.C., J. Rudgers, and J.L. Bronstein (2014). How context-dependent are species interactions? Ecology Letters 17: 881-890