scholarly journals Resource competition and species coexistence in a two-patch metaecosystem model

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-221
Author(s):  
Ioannis Tsakalakis ◽  
Bernd Blasius ◽  
Alexey Ryabov
Keyword(s):  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition

scholarly journals The evolution of competitive ability for essential resources

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joey R. Bernhardt ◽  
Pavel Kratina ◽  
Aaron Pereira ◽  
Manu Tamminen ◽  
Mridul K. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Light Limitation ◽  
Major Question ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Resource Requirements ◽  
Competitive Abilities

AbstractCompetition for limiting resources is among the most fundamental ecological interactions and has long been considered a key driver of species coexistence and biodiversity. Species’ minimum resource requirements, their R*s, are key traits that link individual physiological demands to the outcome of competition. However, a major question remains unanswered - to what extent are species’ competitive traits able to evolve in response to resource limitation? To address this knowledge gap, we performed an evolution experiment in which we exposed Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for approximately 285 generations to seven environments in chemostats which differed in resource supply ratios (including nitrogen, phosphorus and light limitation) and salt stress. We then grew the ancestors and descendants in common garden and quantified their competitive abilities for essential resources. We investigated constraints on trait evolution by testing whether changes in resource requirements for different resources were correlated. Competitive abilities for phosphorus improved in all populations, while competitive abilities for nitrogen and light increased in some populations and decreased in others. In contrast to the common assumption that there are trade-offs between competitive abilities for different resources, we found that improvements in competitive ability for a resource came at no detectable cost. Instead, improvements in competitive ability for multiple resources were either positively correlated or not significantly correlated. Using resource competition theory, we then demonstrated that rapid adaptation in competitive traits altered the predicted outcomes of competition. These results highlight the need to incorporate contemporary evolutionary change into predictions of competitive community dynamics over environmental gradients.

Species Coexistence in Ecosystems with Specialist Predation: Trophic Regulation in Gradients of Resource Productivity

2014 ◽  
Vol 1073-1076 ◽  
pp. 1178-1181
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Hua Yong Zhang ◽  
Wang Tian ◽  
Fang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Resource Concentration ◽  
Resource Productivity ◽  
Competition Theory ◽  
Tritrophic System ◽  
High Resource ◽  
Weak Competitor ◽  
Specialist Predators

Specialist predation is believed to play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity of ecosystems, whereas its underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here we analyzed a general model of a tritrophic system containing specialist predators. A new graphical approach based on the balance of resource recruitment and consumption was used. The analyses show that specialist predation can promote coexistence of producer species by increasing resource availability, which waken the exploitive competition between producers. TheR* rule, the dominant rule in traditional resource competition theory, is still dominant in infertile environment. In rich environment, the occurrence of specialist predator increases the equilibrium resource concentration and thus leads to the coexistence of the weak competitor. In high resource productivity environment all the species can coexist.

scholarly journals Reproductive Interference and Niche Partitioning in Aphidophagous Insects

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzuki Noriyuki ◽  
Naoya Osawa
Keyword(s):  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Reproductive Interference ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Race Formation

The range and quality of prey species differ greatly among closely related species of predators. However, the factors responsible for this diversified niche utilization are unclear. This is because the predation and resource competition do not always prevent species coexistence. In this paper, we present evidence in support of reproductive interference as a driver of niche partitioning, focusing on aphidophagous insect. Firstly, we present closely related generalist and specialist species pairs in aphidophagous lacewings to compare the reproductive interference hypothesis with two other hypotheses that have been proposed to explain niche partitioning in lacewings and sympatric speciation through host race formation and sexual selection. Secondly, we present a case study that shows how reproductive interference can drive niche partitioning in sibling ladybird species. Thirdly, we show that many ladybird genera include species inhabiting the same region but having different food and habitat preferences, raising the possibility that reproductive interference might occur in these groups. Finally, we show that intraguild predation cannot always explain the niche partitioning in aphidophagous insects including hoverflies and parasitoids. On the basis of the evidence presented, we urge that future studies investigating predator communities should take account of the role of reproductive interference.

scholarly journals Niche theory for mutualism: A graphical approach to plant-pollinator network dynamics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda S. Valdovinos ◽  
Robert Marsland
Keyword(s):  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Graphical Representation ◽  
Equilibrium Structure ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Niche Theory ◽  
Graphical Approach ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
Consumer Resource

AbstractContemporary Niche Theory is a useful framework for understanding how organisms interact with each other and with their shared environment. Its graphical representation, popularized by Tilman’s Resource Ratio Hypothesis, facilitates the analysis of the equilibrium structure of complex dynamical models including species coexistence. This theory has been applied primarily to resource competition since its early beginnings. Here, we integrate mutualism into niche theory by expanding Tilman’s graphical representation to the analysis of consumer-resource dynamics of plant-pollinator networks. We graphically explain the qualitative phenomena previously found by numerical simulations, including the effects on community dynamics of nestedness, adaptive foraging, and pollinator invasions. Our graphical approach promotes the unification of niche and network theories, and deepens the synthesis of different types of interactions within a consumer-resource framework.Secondary AbstractTeoría de Nicho para Mutualismos: Una aproximación gráfica a la dinámica de redes planta-polinizadorLa Teoría Contemporánea de Nicho es un marco útil para entender cómo los organismos interactúan entre ellos y con su ambiente compartido. Su representatión gráfica, popularizada por la Hipótesis de Razón de Recursos de Tilman, facilita el análisis de la estructura de equilibrio de modelos dinámicos complejos, incluyendo la coexistencia de especies. Esta teoría ha sido aplicada primariamente a competencia por recursos desde sus inicios. Aquí, integramos el mutualismo dentro de la teoría de nicho al expandir la representatión gráfica de Tilman al análisis de la dinámica consumidor-recurso de las redes planta-polinizador. Explicamos gráficamente fenómenos cualitativos encontrados previamente mediante simulaciones numéricas, incluyendo los efectos sobre la dinámica comunitaria del anidamiento, forrajeo adaptativo y de las invasiones por polinizadores. Nuestra aproximación gráfica promueve la unificatión de las teorías de nicho y de redes, y profundiza la síntesis de diferentes tipos de interacciones dentro de un marco de consumidor-recurso.

scholarly journals Lumpy species coexistence arises robustly in fluctuating resource environments

2017 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 738-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasia Sakavara ◽  
George Tsirtsis ◽  
Daniel L. Roelke ◽  
Rebecca Mancy ◽  
Sofie Spatharis
Keyword(s):  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Dynamic Pattern ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Assemblage Organization ◽  
Competitive Species ◽  
Limiting Resources ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Tidal Hydrology ◽  
The Impact

The effect of life-history traits on resource competition outcomes is well understood in the context of a constant resource supply. However, almost all natural systems are subject to fluctuations of resources driven by cyclical processes such as seasonality and tidal hydrology. To understand community composition, it is therefore imperative to study the impact of resource fluctuations on interspecies competition. We adapted a well-established resource-competition model to show that fluctuations in inflow concentrations of two limiting resources lead to the survival of species in clumps along the trait axis, consistent with observations of “lumpy coexistence” [Scheffer M, van Nes EH (2006)Proc Natl Acad Sci USA103:6230–6235]. A complex dynamic pattern in the available ambient resources arose very early in the self-organization process and dictated the locations of clumps along the trait axis by creating niches that promoted the growth of species with specific traits. This dynamic pattern emerged as the combined result of fluctuations in the inflow of resources and their consumption by the most competitive species that accumulated the bulk of biomass early in assemblage organization. Clumps emerged robustly across a range of periodicities, phase differences, and amplitudes. Given the ubiquity in the real world of asynchronous fluctuations of limiting resources, our findings imply that assemblage organization in clumps should be a common feature in nature.

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