Lumpy species coexistence arises robustly in fluctuating resource environments.

ABSTRACT: The effect of life-history traits on resource competition outcomes is well understood in the context of a constant resource supply. However, almost all natural systems are subject to fluctuations of resources driven by cyclical processes such as seasonality and tidal hydrology. To understand community composition, it is therefore imperative to study the impact of resource fluctuations on interspecies competition. We adapted a well-established resource-competition model to show that fluctuations in inflow concentrations of two limiting resources lead to the survival of species in clumps along the trait axis, consistent with observations of "lumpy coexistence" [Scheffer M, van Nes EH (2006) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:6230-6235]. A complex dynamic pattern in the available ambient resou

SUBMITTER: Sakavara A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5789903 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature