The interplay of nested biotic interactions and the abiotic environment regulates populations of a hypersymbiont

The role of biotic interactions in shaping the distribution and abundance of species should be particularly pronounced in symbionts. Indeed, symbionts have a dual niche composed of traits of their individual hosts and the abiotic environment external to the host, and often combine active dispersal at finer scales with host-mediated dispersal at broader scales. The biotic complexity in the determinants of species distribution and abundance should...