A general model of local competition for space

Abstract

Local competition for space across a wide array of taxa typically involves three mechanisms that we denote here as expansion (spreading into unoccupied habitat), lottery (replacing dead competitors), and overgrowth (encroaching on competitors along zones of contact). By formulating and analysing a simple, general model incorporating these features, we identify ecological conditions and life-history features that lead to stable coexistence or competitive exclusion (with or without initial-condition dependence) and gain insight by linking these to case studies in the literature. We demonstrate the importance of contact inhibition, a little-studied feature of overgrowth, and we show how life-history tradeoffs may influence and be influenced by local competition for space. The general model we present can help indicate whether local interactions are sufficient to explain patterns of coexistence or exclusion and can serve as the foundation for more specific, realistic models of spatial competition.

Multivariate trade‐offs, succession, and phenological differentiation in a guild of colonial invertebrates

“…2) is the first to dominate, and is eventually replaced by a series of species in which later dominants can both overgrow and outlive earlier dominants. This multivariate trade-off axis is therefore a specific example of a colonization-competition trade-off, which is thought to maintain diversity for a variety of organisms, such as marine invertebrates and macroalgae (Sousa 1979, Paine and Levin 1981, Sebens 1986, terrestrial plants (Tilman 1994), lichens (Crowley et al 2005), and ants (Stanton et al 2002).…”

Competitive interactions in a community of murine lichens

“…Las especies F. austrocitrina y C. teicholyta mostraron una estrategia de sobrecrecimiento (Crowley et al, 2005) sobre las restantes especies. Por lo que no solo serían especies colonizadoras de sustratos vacíos, sino que mostrarían una habilidad competitiva mayor frente a otras especies.…”

“…Según los mecanismos propuestos por Crowley et al (2005) podríamos asumir que la expansión y el azar están más desarrolladas en F. austrocitrina que en C. teicholyta, mientras que en el sobrecrecimiento están igualadas. Por ello era de esperar que la condición de empate entre las especies dominantes fuera la más habitual, tal como lo corroboraron los datos obtenidos, además de coincidir con lo observado para otras especies crustosas por Pentecost (1980).…”

“…Se han constatado situaciones en que los colonizadores posteriores han sido incapaces de dominar por completo los hábitats de roca y que esto, combinado con altas tasas de recolonización, mantienen especies pioneras en las comunidades ricas en especies (Woolhouse et al, 1985;John, 1989). Crowley et al (2005) proponen que la competencia por el espacio involucra tres mecanismos primarios: expansión, azar y sobrecrecimento. La expansión es el proceso en el cual la especie ocupa el espacio vacío de competidores.…”

Competitive and demographic leverage points of community shifts under climate warming

“…Because they are subtidal and space-limited [26,27], species in this community are likely to respond to increasing ocean temperature via changes in processes responsible for space acquisition and maintenance. We adapted a community model developed by Crowley et al [28] so that it described our study system, and we parametrized this model with data collected in field and laboratory microcosm experiments.…”