Effect of habitat degradation on competition, carrying capacity, and species assemblage stability.

ABSTRACT: Changes in species' trophic niches due to habitat degradation can affect intra- and interspecific competition, with implications for biodiversity persistence. Difficulties of measuring species' interactions in the field limit our comprehension of competition outcomes along disturbance gradients. Thus, information on how habitat degradation can destabilize food webs is scarce, hindering predictions regarding responses of multispecies systems to environmental changes. Seagrass ecosystems are undergoing degradation. We address effects of Posidonia oceanica coverage reduction on the trophic organization of a macroinvertebrate community in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), hypothesizing increased trophic generalism, niche overlap among species and thus competition and decreased community stabi

SUBMITTER: Calizza E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5552933 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature