Trait matching in a multi‐species geographic mosaic of leafflower plants, brood pollinators, and cheaters

Abstract

Trait matching between partners is usually expected to maintain mutualistic interactions, since in order for mutualisms to function, partner taxa must have traits which match, and thus such matching traits will be under strong stabilizing selection (Week & Nuismer, 2021; Yoder & Nuismer, 2010). In its most extreme forms, such as yuccas and yucca moths, and figs and fig wasps, insects and their host plants exhibit species-specific reciprocal adaptation in both morphology and behaviors pertaining to pollination and oviposition (Althoff &