Disease decreases variation in host community structure in an old-field grassland.

ABSTRACT: Disease may drive variation in host community structure by modifying the interplay of deterministic and stochastic processes that shape communities. For instance, deterministic processes like ecological selection can benefit species less impacted by disease. When communities have higher levels of disease and disease consistently selects for certain host species, this can reduce variation in host community composition. On the other hand, when host communities are less impacted by disease and selection is weaker, stochastic processes (e.g., drift, dispersal) may play a bigger role in host community structure, which can increase variation among communities. While effects of disease on host community structure have been quantified in field experiments, few have addressed the role of disease in

SUBMITTER: Grunberg RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10610459 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature