Hi, Denise. It's very tempting to say yes. If one partner is missing, that's all it takes for photosynthesis not to happen on land. However, I hesitate to call photosynthesis an "emergent" function, nevertheless, because the "phototrophs" (in all the cases I'm aware of) are "phototrophs" all by themselves.
To reiterate, I've been thinking of "functions" as products/abilities that species contribute to their communities (some being unique, others being redundant). Functions are "emergent" when they're not characteristic of any one species in the community (or any one partner in a symbiosis), but, instead, are the result of species interacting with one another. An analogous phenomenon would be the chemical properties of compounds. The properties of water, for example, aren't present in oxygen or hydrogen gas. If analysis reveals that a container holds one part oxygen and two parts hydrogen, you wouldn't necessarily try to use it to douse a flame. ~ Aabir ----- Original Message ----- From: Denise Burchsted <dburchs...@keene.edu> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 20:48:32 -0000 (UTC) Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] "Emergent" functions contributing to the functional diversity of a community? What about the fungus + phototroph association that made colonization of dry land possible? (e.g., http://www.duluth.umn.edu/~jetterso/Pages%20for%20Plant%20Diversity%20Web%20Site/documents/plantfungihistoryTREE.pdf) - Denise -- Denise Burchsted, PE, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies mail: Mailstop 2001, Keene State College, Keene NH 03435-2001 office: (603) 358-2176, Putnam Science Center room 236 On 9/6/2013 6:05 AM, Aabir Banerji wrote: > Hi, Duncan. > > I do regard secondary phytochemicals as functional traits. Do you know if phytochemicals can blend with each other or otherwise enhance each other's potency to create an emergent defense cocktail? Something that would deter consumers that would not be deterred by any of the individual components? > > ~ Aabir > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Duncan Thomas > To: Aabir Banerji > Cc: ECOLOG-L@listserv.umd.edu > Sent: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 03:03:18 -0000 (UTC) > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] "Emergent" functions contributing to the functional diversity of a community? > > > > If you include plant secondary phytochemicals as functional > > traits, then the fitness of an individual can be increased by having neighbors > > that use different functional traits for their chemical defenses, reducing the local > > density of taxon-specific pathogens. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any > > publications that have looked at functional traits this way for natural systems > > or for inter-cropping. > Duncan Thomas > > > > On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 2:53 AM, Aabir Banerji wrote: > > > > Dear fellow ECOLOG users, > > > > > > The relationship between functional diversity and taxonomic diversity in ecological communities isn't always linear. I imagine the simplest case of non-linearity is where there is a lot of functional redundancy among phylogenetically diverse taxa. The opposite extreme (a depauperate community having a lot of functional diversity) is also possible... e.g., where generalist populations exhibit complex demographic structures or inducible polymorphisms. > > > > > > > > What I'd like to know, though, is if there is evidence of taxa fulfilling functions by associating with one another. It's one thing for a species to enter a new niche by relying on the product or ability of a different species (such as a beneficial symbiont). It's another for different species to combine complementary products or abilities to create/achieve something that no one species in the community is able to produce or achieve by itself (an "emergent" function). This latter phenomenon would be something akin to neighborhood habitat amelioration... or, perhaps, something more general that includes neighborhood habitat amelioration. > > > > > > > > Would any of you happen to know of recent reviews or articles that address this topic? Or some really good examples of it, perhaps? > > > > > > Thanks in advance! > > > > > > ~ Aabir > > > > > > > > > Dr. Aabir Banerji > > > Postdoctoral Associate > > > Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies > > > University of Zurich > > > aabir.bane...@ieu.uzh.ch