Generalizing clusters of similar species as a signature of coexistence under competition.

ABSTRACT: Patterns of trait distribution among competing species can potentially reveal the processes that allow them to coexist. It has been recently proposed that competition may drive the spontaneous emergence of niches comprising clusters of similar species, in contrast with the dominant paradigm of greater-than-chance species differences. However, current clustering theory relies largely on heuristic rather than mechanistic models. Furthermore, studies of models incorporating demographic stochasticity and immigration, two key players in community assembly, did not observe clusters. Here we demonstrate clustering under partitioning of resources, partitioning of environmental gradients, and a competition-colonization tradeoff. We show that clusters are robust to demographic stochasticity, and can

SUBMITTER: D'Andrea R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6358094 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature