Unveiling the transition from niche to dispersal assembly in ecology.

ABSTRACT: A central goal in ecology is to understand what maintains species diversity in local communities. Classic ecological theory^1,2 posits that niches dictate the maximum number of species that can coexist in a community and that the richness of observed species will be below this maximum only where immigration is very low. A new alternative theory^3,4 is that niches, instead, dictate the minimum number of coexisting species and that the richness of observed species will usually be well above this because of ongoing immigration. We conducted an experimental test to discriminate between these two unified theories using a manipulative field experiment with tropical intertidal communities. We found, consistent with the new theory, that the relationship of species richness to i

SUBMITTER: Loke LHL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10266978 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature