AUTHOR=Renahan Tess , Sommer Ralf J. TITLE=Nematode Interactions on Beetle Hosts Indicate a Role of Mouth-Form Plasticity in Resource Competition JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.752695 DOI=10.3389/fevo.2021.752695 ISSN=2296-701X ABSTRACT=
Competition is rampant across kingdoms, arising over potential mates, food resources, and space availability. When faced with opponents, phenotypic plasticity proffers organisms indispensable advantageous strategies to outcompete rivals. This tactic is especially crucial on decaying insect hosts as myriad microbes and numerous nematodes struggle to establish thriving populations and ensure resource availability for future generations. Scarab beetles and their associated nematode symbionts on La RĂ©union Island have provided exceptional systems to study complicated cross-phylum interactions in soil, and recently we have identified a previously unexplored beetle host,