Effects of phenotypic variation on consumer coexistence and prey community structure.

ABSTRACT: A popular idea in ecology is that trait variation among individuals from the same species may promote the coexistence of competing species. However, theoretical and empirical tests of this idea have yielded inconsistent findings. We manipulated intraspecific trait diversity in a ciliate competing with a nematode for bacterial prey in experimental microcosms. We found that intraspecific trait variation inverted the original competitive hierarchy to favour the consumer with variable traits, ultimately resulting in competitive exclusion. This competitive outcome was driven by foraging traits (size, speed and directionality) that increased the ciliate's fitness ratio and niche overlap with the nematode. The interplay between consumer trait variation and competition resulted in non-additive cas

SUBMITTER: Hogle SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9299012 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature