Competition and Coexistence

Sommer, Ulrich; Worm, Boris

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-56166-5

Cited by 53 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Several studies have shown that competition between species can be reduced through niche partitioning (Tilman 1982;Arthur 1987;Sommer and Worm 2002). Food-niche partitioning, in particular, often allows sympatric canids to coexist by reducing overlap of shared prey and minimizing the likelihood of potentially dangerous encounters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Seasonal food habits of corsac and red foxes in Mongolia and the potential for competition

Murdoch¹,

Munkhzul²,

Buyandelger³

et al. 2010

Mammalian Biology

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Competition often occurs between sympatric species that exploit similar ecological niches. Among canids, competition may be reduced by partitioning resources such as food, time, and habitat, but the mechanisms of coexistence remain poorly understood, particularly among fox species. We described the food habits of two foxes that live sympatrically across northern and central Asia, the corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) and red fox (V. vulpes), by analyzing scats collected during a field study in Mongolia. We analyzed 829 corsac and 995 red fox scats collected from April 2005 to August 2007 and tested the extent to which food partitioning occurred. The diets of both species consisted mainly of insects followed by rodents, but also included birds, reptiles, large mammal remains (carrion), plant material (including fruits and seeds), and garbage. Despite high overlap in the proportion of food items consumed, differences existed between species in overall diet with corsacs more frequently consuming beetles, but proportionally fewer crickets and large mammal remains than red foxes. We detected interspecific differences during the pup rearing and dispersal seasons, when prey was abundant, but not during the breeding season, when prey was scarce and diet overlap highest. Each species' diet also differed seasonally and exhibited moderate overall breadth. Corsacs consumed proportionally more beetles and rodents during pup rearing and crickets during dispersal relative to other seasons, whereas red foxes consumed proportionally more crickets during pup rearing and dispersal and more rodents and large mammals during pup rearing and breeding relative to other seasons. Our results suggest that partitioning of food resources during most of the year facilitates coexistence, and that the potential for competition is highest during winter months.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Seasonal food habits of corsac and red foxes in Mongolia and the potential for competition

Murdoch¹,

Munkhzul²,

Buyandelger³

et al. 2010

Mammalian Biology

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“…plant competition ͉ recycling ͉ biogeochemistry ͉ nutrient losses ͉ evolution E ssential resources, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, can limit primary production of individual plants as well as entire ecosystems (1)(2) and can play an essential role in plant community assembly (3)(4)(5)(6). Therefore, understanding plantnutrient interactions constitutes a major challenge for plant community ecology and ecosystem biology.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Classical models (3,6) of exploitative competition in plant communities have long assumed that individual plants affect the abundance of nutrients only through consumption (7)(8)(9). The system of interest involves two classes of nutrients that define two functionally different compartments ( Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

Plant coexistence depends on ecosystem nutrient cycles: Extension of the resource-ratio theory

Daufresne

Hedin

2005

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

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We present a model of plant-nutrient interactions that extends classical resource competition theory to environments in which essential nutrients (resources) are recycled between plant and soil pools and dissolved nutrients are lost through plant-available (i.e., inorganic forms) or plant-unavailable (i.e., complex organic forms) pathways. Losses by dissolved organic pathways can alter ratios of nutrients that are recycled and supplied within the plant-soil system, thereby influencing competition and coexistence among plant species. In special cases, our extended model does not differ from classical models, but in more realistic cases our model introduces new dynamical behavior that influences competitive outcomes. At equilibrium, coexistence still depends on nutrient supply and consumption, but nutrient supply includes recycling and is highly sensitive to whether a species promotes more organic losses of the nutrient that limits its own growth than of nutrients that limit its competitors. Because recycling operates with a time delay compared with consumption, recycling-mediated effects on competition can, under certain conditions, lead to sustained population oscillations. Our findings have implications for how we understand nutrient competition, nutrient cycles, and plant evolutionary strategies.plant competition ͉ recycling ͉ biogeochemistry ͉ nutrient losses ͉ evolution E ssential resources, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, can limit primary production of individual plants as well as entire ecosystems (1-2) and can play an essential role in plant community assembly (3-6). Therefore, understanding plantnutrient interactions constitutes a major challenge for plant community ecology and ecosystem biology.Classical models (3, 6) of exploitative competition in plant communities have long assumed that individual plants affect the abundance of nutrients only through consumption (7-9). The system of interest involves two classes of nutrients that define two functionally different compartments ( Fig. 1a): nutrients that are bound within plant biomass and inorganic nutrients (e.g., NO 3 Ϫ or PO 4 3Ϫ ) that are available for immediate plant uptake in the environmental matrix. For simplicity, the system is usually assumed to follow simple chemostat resource supply dynamics that do not incorporate species-specific effects on recycling, nutrient loss, and other such factors (9).Plant-nutrient interactions have been extensively studied from this perspective (7-10). The impact of plants on nutrients, mediated through consumption, can be illustrated (Fig. 1b) by using the traditional graphical method of the resource-ratio theory (3). If several plant species compete for two nutrients, this graphical method provides a convenient way to predict competitive outcomes as a function of nutrient supplies (3, 4, 11).On the contrary, ecosystem biology considers consumption as only one part of a larger plant-nutrient system in which nutrients cycle between plants and their environment (11-13) (Fig. 1c). This approach typically focuses ...

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“…Historically, the biodiversity paradox arose as a contradiction between the competitive exclusion principle and the observed richness of tropically similar species [16]. In theory, according to the competitive exclusion principle, complete competitors cannot coexist, but in practice, there are many examples of such coexistence: tropical rainforest, coral reefs, grasslands, plankton communities [16] 1999). This contradiction has resulted in that "resolving the diversity paradox became the central issue in theoretical ecology" [17].…”

Section: On the Competitive Exclusion Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Axiomatic cellular automata modelling as a promising way to a general theory of ecological physics

Kalmykov¹,

Kalmykov²,

Kalmykov³

2017

MOJES

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The observed loss of biodiversity calls to create a general theory of ecological physics for better understanding of the events. Due to the inseparable mutuality of organism and environment, ecological physics should combine biophysics (physics of organisms) and environmental physics. We guess that a general theory of ecological physics should include as an abstract physical description of an ecosystem and a tool for its transparent ("white box") modelling. Such a theory should have a system of basic axioms. Here we demonstrate that logical cellular automata allow to create transparent models of ecosystems. The system of basic axioms of the general theory of ecological physics performs the role of the cellular automata rules. We believe that such a transparent mathematical modelling from the first principles is very promising not only for the ecology, but also for modelling of any complex dynamic systems. deterministic inference of white-box models. Here we introduce a physics-based semantics (ontology) of our ecosystem models. Further, we transform this semantics to a set of axiomatic cellular automata rules. An elementary object of our models is a micro ecosystem. This is the basic ideal "self-moving" object of our models. Autonomous dynamics of this object is characterized by a set of states, and the diagram of their sequential change in accordance with the principles of the extreme. Following Tansley, we consider individuals with their ''special environment, with which they form one physical system'' [1]. A microhabitat is the intrinsic part of environmental resources of one individual and it contains all necessary resources for its life. It is an intrinsic part of all environmental resources and conditions per one individual. The high-grade (''fresh'') energy flow of solar radiation provides an individual's life in a microhabitat. The flow of lowered-grade (''used-up'') energy which is produced during an individual's life goes into the cold space and also provides the conditions for an individual's life in a microhabitat. A living organism is not able to function without the heat output to a ''refrigerator''. Ultimately, the cold space performs a role of the refrigerator. A working cycle of a micro ecosystem's processes represents a closed circle, which includes occupation of a microhabitat by an individual and restoration of used resources after an individual's death. A micro eco-system, includes a single microhabitat and is able to provide a single accommodation of one individual, but it cannot provide its propagation. This is due to the fact that after an individual's death, its microhabitat goes into a regeneration (refractory) state, which is not suitable for immediate occupation. A minimal ecosystem, providing a possibility of vegetative propagation of an individual, must consist of two microhabitats. In our models vegetative propagation is carried out due to resources of an individual's microhabitat by placing a finished vegetative primordium of a descendant in a free microhabitat of an indiv...

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Competition and Coexistence

Cited by 53 publications

References 0 publications

Seasonal food habits of corsac and red foxes in Mongolia and the potential for competition

Seasonal food habits of corsac and red foxes in Mongolia and the potential for competition

Plant coexistence depends on ecosystem nutrient cycles: Extension of the resource-ratio theory

Axiomatic cellular automata modelling as a promising way to a general theory of ecological physics

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