Ecological Fitting and Novel Species Interactions in Nature

Ecological fitting many often produces interactions that resemble those resulting from a long coevolutionary history. Fitting is often based on the ecophysiological equivalence of an organism to biotic and/or abiotic parameters in its old and new habitats. Strong equivalence in these parameters based on extant phenotypic traits possessed by the organism at a specified starting point may allow an organism to colonize a novel habitat. More complex forms of fitting may include multiple parties, such as those involving the attraction of new pollinators to an assemblage of flowers. Some of the most conspicuous examples of fitting involve invasive species. Invasiveness may occur when an organism disproportionately escapes from coevolved enemies and/or attracts more mutualists in its new range compared with its native range. Some species may be better at fitting to novel conditions than others; based on how refined their evolved traits are to their native habitats.