Trade-off between local abundance and generalism in CMAs in a natural environment
In this study, we will assess the generalism of CMAs by estimating the amplitude of their ecological niche by numerical approaches, in order to determine if certain CMAs are more generalist than expected by chance, and if these patterns are related to the CMA phylogeny, such that some clades might show a greater generalist tendency. This could highlight a trade-off between "being a jack-of-all-trades" that grows everywhere, in any patch and on any plant, or being a fungus with stronger preferences for particular environments. , which would make it less common but more competitive in its preferred habitat. Here one might expect to find both strong generalisms and very high local abundances for some generalist CMAs, the most dominant in the regional pool.