Invariant properties of mycobiont-photobiont networks in Antarctic lichens

• Published in: Global Ecology and Biogeography
• Main Authors: Pérez Ortega, Sergio, Verdú del Campo, Miguel, Garrido Benavent, Isaac, Garcia Rabasa, Sonia, Sancho, Leopoldo G., Ríos Murillo, Asunción de los
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Botànica; Biologia; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10550/90501; https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13744

Aim Lichens are often regarded as paradigms of mutualistic relationships. However, it is still poorly known how lichen-forming fungi and their photosynthetic partners interact at a community scale. We explored the structure of fungus-alga networks of interactions in lichen communities along a latitudinal transect in continental Antarctica. We expect these interactions to be highly specialized and, consequently, networks with low nestedness degree and high modularity.