Surprising competitive coexistence in a classic model system

Fox, Jeremy W.; Barreto, Cristine Costa

doi:10.1556/comec.7.2006.2.2

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…First, the predator Tetrahymena sp. is able to grow on dissolved carbon sources (Fox & Barreto 2006). Thus, direct consumption of resources by the predator might have affected its interactions with other species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and coexistence are influenced by time‐dependent species interactions in a predator–prey system

2020

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Although numerous studies show that communities are jointly influenced by predation and competitive interactions, few have resolved how temporal variability in these interactions influences community assembly and stability. Here, we addressed this challenge in experimental microbial microcosms by employing empirical dynamic modelling tools to: (1) detect causal interactions between prey species in the absence and presence of a predator; (2) quantify the time-varying strength of these interactions and (3) explore stability in the resulting communities. Our findings show that predators boost the number of causal interactions among community members, and lead to reduced dynamic stability, but higher coexistence among prey species. These results correspond to time-varying changes in species interactions, including emergence of morphological characteristics that appeared to reduce predation, and indirectly facilitate growth of predatorsusceptible species. Jointly, our findings suggest that careful consideration of both context and time may be necessary to predict and explain outcomes in multi-trophic systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and coexistence are influenced by time‐dependent species interactions in a predator–prey system

2020

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“…Fox & Barreto (2006) rejected several possible explanations for the long‐term coexistence of competing protists in closed environments, including chemical interference, effects of bacterial composition, and spatial segregation of competitors. A detailed mechanistic understanding of coexistence in this system is not yet developed (Fox & Barreto 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transient coexistence at the lower productivities and middle temperature despite differences in R* hints at complexities in the interactions between these species not captured by traditional theories of competition for a single shared resource. Prior studies of this system have shown that competitors can coexist despite differences in R*; dominant competitors do generally have lower R* values, but they do not always exclude species with higher R* values (Fox 2002;Fox & Barreto 2006). Fox & Barreto (2006) rejected several possible explanations for the long-term coexistence of (a) (b)…”

Section: Competition In Constant Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Prior studies of this system have shown that competitors can coexist despite differences in R*; dominant competitors do generally have lower R* values, but they do not always exclude species with higher R* values (Fox 2002;Fox & Barreto 2006). Fox & Barreto (2006) rejected several possible explanations for the long-term coexistence of (a) (b)…”

Section: Competition In Constant Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The effects of immigration and environmental variability on the persistence of an inferior competitor

Long¹,

Petchey²,

Holt³

2007

Ecology Letters

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We tested the hypothesis that temporally autocorrelated variation should increase the abundance of an inferior competitor sustained by immigration. Temporally autocorrelated variability can increase abundance of the inferior species through effects on demography, the strength of competition, and the mean and variance in the abundance of competing species. We allowed the competitive inferior to immigrate into habitats with constant, variable, or temporally autocorrelated temperature regimes. In the absence of immigration, competitive exclusion occurred, in both constant and variable environments. Immigration permitted persistence of the inferior species, and increased immigration rates led to increased abundance. Temporally autocorrelated variability enhanced this effect of immigration. This 'inflationary' effect suggests that the interplay of immigration and environmental variability can jointly influence the outcome of competitive interactions. Our results suggest that an increase in temporal autocorrelation of environmental variability will cause regional processes to increasingly influence local interactions.

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“…Tetrahymena species are able to grow on dissolved carbon sources and even fail to reduce the density of bacteria offered to them [32]. Foraging may be flexible due to specific predator traits such as absolute time or effort needed for grazing and relative intake rates, which, in turn impact the transient dynamics of the communities [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient recovery dynamics of a predator–prey system under press and pulse disturbances

Karakoç¹,

Singer²,

Johst³

et al. 2017

BMC Ecol

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BackgroundSpecies recovery after disturbances depends on the strength and duration of disturbance, on the species traits and on the biotic interactions with other species. In order to understand these complex relationships, it is essential to understand mechanistically the transient dynamics of interacting species during and after disturbances. We combined microcosm experiments with simulation modelling and studied the transient recovery dynamics of a simple microbial food web under pulse and press disturbances and under different predator couplings to an alternative resource.ResultsOur results reveal that although the disturbances affected predator and prey populations by the same mortality, predator populations suffered for a longer time. The resulting diminished predation stress caused a temporary phase of high prey population sizes (i.e. prey release) during and even after disturbances. Increasing duration and strength of disturbances significantly slowed down the recovery time of the predator prolonging the phase of prey release. However, the additional coupling of the predator to an alternative resource allowed the predator to recover faster after the disturbances thus shortening the phase of prey release.ConclusionsOur findings are not limited to the studied system and can be used to understand the dynamic response and recovery potential of many natural predator–prey or host–pathogen systems. They can be applied, for instance, in epidemiological and conservational contexts to regulate prey release or to avoid extinction risk of the top trophic levels under different types of disturbances.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-017-0123-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Surprising competitive coexistence in a classic model system

Cited by 18 publications

References 35 publications

Diversity and coexistence are influenced by time‐dependent species interactions in a predator–prey system

Diversity and coexistence are influenced by time‐dependent species interactions in a predator–prey system

The effects of immigration and environmental variability on the persistence of an inferior competitor

Transient recovery dynamics of a predator–prey system under press and pulse disturbances

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