Tritrophic interactions follow phylogenetic escalation and climatic adaptation

One major goal in plant evolutionary ecology is to address how and why tritrophic interactions mediated by phytochemical plant defences vary across species, space, and time. In this study, we tested three classical hypotheses about plant defences: (i) the resource-availability hypothesis, (ii) the altitudinal/elevational gradient hypothesis and (iii) the defence escalation hypothesis. For this purpose, predatory soil nematodes were challenged to hunt for root herbivores based on volatile cues from damaged or intact roots of 18 Alpine Festuca grass species adapted to distinct climatic niches spanning 2000 meters of elevation. We found that adaptation into harsh, nutrient-limited alpine environments coincided with the production of specific blends of volatiles, highly attractive for nematodes. We also found that recently-diverged taxa exposed to herbivores released higher amounts of volatiles than ancestrally-diverged species. Therefore, our model provides evidence that belowground indirect plant defences associated with tritrophic interactions have evolved under two classical hypotheses in plant ecology. While phylogenetic drivers of volatile emissions point to the defence-escalation hypothesis, plant local adaptation of indirect defences is in line with the resource availability hypothesis

Additional file 1 of Unprofessional behaviour of GP residents leading to a dismissal dispute: characteristics and outcomes of those who appeal

Supplementary Material

Appendix D. Bivariate correlations between response variables in the structural equation model.

Bivariate correlations between response variables in the structural equation model

Do deficiencies in CanMEDS competencies of dismissed residents differ according to specialty?

Program directors dismiss a small percentage of residents from residency training programs, presumably due to underperformance or lack of progress. Whether underperformance in competency domains differs by residents’ specialty is unknown. In 2021, we analysed the case law of Dutch residents who were dismissed from training by the program director, and who challenged this dismissal before the national conciliation board between 2011 and 2020. Across medical specialties we compared which of the CanMEDS competency domains these residents failed to meet. We found 116 cases of residents dismissed from their training programmes who challenged the decision of the program director before the board. In general, most residents were unable to meet the requirements of several CanMEDS competency domains (usually: medical expert, communicator, and professional). In surgery, all dismissed residents failed to meet the competency domain of the medical expert, while most of the dismissed psychiatry residents met this domain. In specialties with a primarily diagnostic task, more dismissed residents failed to meet the competency domain of the scholar, while dismissed general medicine residents (for example family medicine and nursing homecare) were less likely to do so. Residents in general medicine, more often than other specialties, however, failed to meet the competency domain of the professional. Residents dismissed from training who challenged their dismissal to fail to meet the requirements of multiple CanMEDS competency domains. Competency domain failures differ by speciality.</p

Appendix B. Initial conceptual “saturated” model of the relationship between rhizobia, aboveground plant traits, number of ants attracted and the model selection procedure.

Initial conceptual “saturated” model of the relationship between rhizobia, aboveground plant traits, number of ants attracted and the model selection procedure

Appendix C. Results of structural equation models.

Results of structural equation models

Appendix A. Effects of rhizobia on Phaseolus lunatus aboveground and belowground biomass.

Effects of rhizobia on Phaseolus lunatus aboveground and belowground biomass