title: Mutualistic mimicry enhances species diversification through spatial segregation and extension of the ecological niche space.
abstract: Species richness varies among clades, yet the drivers of diversification creating this variation remain poorly understood. While abiotic factors likely drive some of the variation in species richness, ecological interactions may also contribute. Here, we examine one class of potential contributors to species richness variation that is particularly poorly understood: mutualistic interactions. We aim to elucidate large-scale patterns of diversification mediated by mutualistic interactions using a spatially explicit population-based model. We focus on mutualistic Müllerian mimicry between conspicuous toxic prey species, where convergence in color patterns emerges from predators' learning process. To investigate the effects of Müllerian mimicry on species diversification, we assume that some speciation events stem from shifts in ecological niches, and can also be associated with shift in mimetic color pattern. Through the emergence of spatial mosaics of mimetic color patterns, Müllerian mimicry constrains the geographical distribution of species and allows different species occupying similar ecological niches to exist simultaneously in different regions. Müllerian mimicry and the resulting spatial segregation of mimetic color patterns thus generate more balanced phylogenetic trees and increase overall species diversity. Our study sheds light on complex effects of Müllerian mimicry on ecological, spatial, and phylogenetic diversification.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE - UMR 5175 - CNRS, Université de Montpellier, EPHE, Université Paul Valéry, 1919 route de Mende,, F-34293, Montpellier 5, France.|Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP50, F-75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Aubier
authors.affiliation: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP50, F-75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.affiliation: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP50, F-75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Violaine
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Llaurens
authors.affiliation: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP50, F-75005, Paris, France.|Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chazot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D000067558:Biological Mimicry; D003116:Color; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D007858:Learning; D008954:Models, Biological; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: Agent-based model; Müllerian mimicry; macroevolution; mutualism; phylogenetic trees; range size