Publication Date:
2011-01-19
Description:
Weyl et al. (1) used employment contract theory to argue that partner fidelity feedback (PFF) provides a stronger explanation for the evolution of mutualisms than host sanctions (HS). Unfortunately, the article propagates a series of major misunderstandings that require correction.First, their model assumes a single clone of symbiont per host (1). This fundamental assumption is violated in all mutualisms discussed by Weyl et al. (1) (e.g., figs and wasps, yuccas and moths, legumes and rhizobia, plants and mycorrhizae). Weyl et al. (1) conceded: “the fact that legumes are often infected by multiple strains of rhizobia remains a problem, because our...
Keywords:
Letters
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General