Alternate plant life history strategies and coexistence in randomly varying environments

Ellner, Stephen P.

doi:10.1007/bf00038701

Cited by 82 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Interestingly, most of the variation in seed size within a species is due to variation within individual parental plants (Michaels et al 1988) that appear to hedge their bets between the conflicting responses to competition and predation. This last example illustrates that comparable phenomena to those considered here have been a recurring theme in the literature on life history effects on coexistence (Ellner 1987, Chesson and Huntly 1988, Hairston et al 1997.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Habitat Selection under Temporal Heterogeneity: Exorcizing the Ghost of Competition past

Schmidt

Earnhardt

Brown

et al. 2000

Ecology

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Abstract. We investigate how coexistence between competitors may be influenced by habitat selection when habitats represent either sources or sinks, and given that dispersal is free to evolve. Evolutionary stable dispersal between source and sink habitats can occur if local fitnesses vary temporally, either due to intrinsic factors (e.g., chaotic dynamics) or extrinsic factors (e.g., environmental stochasticity). The model assumes locally linear LotkaVolterra competition between two species. Given sufficiently low density-independent mortality in the sink, dispersal between habitats is an evolutionary stable strategy (ESS). Given a trade-off between competitive ability in the source and mortality in the sink, a sink habitat can promote species coexistence in the source habitat if the inferior competitor species experiences lower mortality in the sink. This highlights how sink habitats may provide mechanisms of coexistence in heterogeneous landscapes. In a second scenario, the competitors have distinct habitat preferences, resulting in the ''Ghost of Competition Past'' (i.e., complete habitat partitioning) with stable population dynamics. With unstable population dynamics, dispersal between habitats becomes the ESS, and the Ghost vanishes leading either to coexistence of the competitors in both habitats or global exclusion of one species. Our results highlight the importance of jointly considering the effects of spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability when analyzing the coexistence of competing, mobile organisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Habitat Selection under Temporal Heterogeneity: Exorcizing the Ghost of Competition past

Schmidt

Earnhardt

Brown

et al. 2000

Ecology

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“…These fluctuations in density can satisfy the second and third conditions of the storage effect, even assuming competitive equivalence among species (7)(8)(9). In our model of perennial plants, by contrast, interannual variability in competitive interactions, not fluctuations in abundance, produce the stabilizing effects of variability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The ecological impacts of increased climate variability are poorly understood (3), especially in comparison with threats posed by increasing mean temperatures (4,5). This gap in empirical research contrasts sharply with a considerable body of theory examining the effects of environmental fluctuations on the maintenance of species diversity (6)(7)(8)(9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate variability has a stabilizing effect on the coexistence of prairie grasses

Adler

HilleRisLambers²,

Kyriakidis

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

306

310

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How expected increases in climate variability will affect species diversity depends on the role of such variability in regulating the coexistence of competing species. Despite theory linking temporal environmental fluctuations with the maintenance of diversity, the importance of climate variability for stabilizing coexistence remains unknown because of a lack of appropriate long-term observations. Here, we analyze three decades of demographic data from a Kansas prairie to demonstrate that interannual climate variability promotes the coexistence of three common grass species. Specifically, we show that (i) the dynamics of the three species satisfy all requirements of ''storage effect'' theory based on recruitment variability with overlapping generations, (ii) climate variables are correlated with interannual variation in species performance, and (iii) temporal variability increases low-density growth rates, buffering these species against competitive exclusion. Given that environmental fluctuations are ubiquitous in natural systems, our results suggest that coexistence based on the storage effect may be underappreciated and could provide an important alternative to recent neutral theories of diversity. Field evidence for positive effects of variability on coexistence also emphasizes the need to consider changes in both climate means and variances when forecasting the effects of global change on species diversity.climate change ͉ competition ͉ grassland ͉ plant community ͉ population dynamics S trong climate variability characterizes ecosystems worldwide, and in many regions this variability is predicted to increase over the next century because of higher frequencies of severe storms and droughts (1, 2). The ecological impacts of increased climate variability are poorly understood (3), especially in comparison with threats posed by increasing mean temperatures (4,5). This gap in empirical research contrasts sharply with a considerable body of theory examining the effects of environmental fluctuations on the maintenance of species diversity (6-9).''Storage effect'' theory derives the conditions under which climate variability will have stabilizing or destabilizing effects on species coexistence (10). The temporal storage effect described in refs. 6 and 9 requires that three conditions be met. To satisfy condition 1, species must have long lifespans to buffer their populations against unfavorable years. For condition 2, species must differ in their response to climate variation. These speciesspecific responses to climate cause each species to experience relatively more intraspecific competition during its favorable years and more interspecific competition during its unfavorable years. Condition 3 requires that the effect of competition on each species must be more severe in years favorable for that species than in unfavorable years. When condition 2 is present, intraspecific competition will be more severe than interspecific competition. As a result, climate variability gives species an advantage when they become ra...

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“…Evolutionarily stable strategies for dispersal have been examined for more general competition schemes [38], and in more complex habitats [39][40][41] (see [42] for a review of dispersal models); similar approaches have been applied to the examination of dormancy [43][44][45], seed size [46], tree height [47][48][49] and other characters. Exact analytical results have proved achievable in some cases; in others, especially in spatially explicit models, answers have been obtained only or primarily through simulations.…”

Section: Theoretical Approaches To Trait Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of diversity in plant communities

Levin

Muller‐Landau

2000

Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series III - Scienc

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Alternate plant life history strategies and coexistence in randomly varying environments

Cited by 82 publications

References 37 publications

Habitat Selection under Temporal Heterogeneity: Exorcizing the Ghost of Competition past

Habitat Selection under Temporal Heterogeneity: Exorcizing the Ghost of Competition past

Climate variability has a stabilizing effect on the coexistence of prairie grasses

The emergence of diversity in plant communities

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