Competition-defense tradeoffs and the maintenance of plant diversity.

ABSTRACT: Ecologists have long observed that consumers can maintain species diversity in communities of their prey. Many theories of how consumers mediate diversity invoke a tradeoff between species' competitive ability and their ability to withstand predation. Under this constraint, the best competitors are also most susceptible to consumers, preventing them from excluding other species. However, empirical evidence for competition-defense tradeoffs is limited and, as such, the mechanisms by which consumers regulate diversity remain uncertain. We performed a meta-analysis of 36 studies to evaluate the prevalence of the competition-defense tradeoff and its role in maintaining diversity in plant communities. We quantified species' responses to experimental resource addition and consumer removal as est

SUBMITTER: Viola DV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2951440 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature