Synopses & Reviews
The global loss of biodiversity has led to a renewed interest in the underlying mechanisms that explain spatial differences and temporal change of diversity. This book synthesises recent advances in our understanding of interactions that enhance or diminish coexistence among competing species. It features an innovative, spatial view of competition and coexistence. The chapters are logically grouped and stitched together by the central organising principle of spatial distribution and mobility of competing species and their resources. The text also covers ecological modelling and experimental evidence in the search for general principles across ecosystems, from lake plankton and rocky shore benthos to grasslands and insects.
Synopsis
1 Introduction.- 1.1 The Intellectual Debate Until 1990.- 1.2 Progress During the Last Decade.- 1.3 Consequences for the Structure of the Book.- References.- 2 Competition in Well-Mixed Habitats: From Competitive Exclusion to Competitive Chaos.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Competition for a Single Abiotic Resource.- 2.2.1 Growth of a Single Species.- 2.2.2 Competitive Interactions.- 2.2.3 Competition for Light.- 2.3 Resource Storage.- 2.3.1 A Competition Model Based on Storage.- 2.3.2 Storage in a Constant Environment.- 2.3.3 Storage in a Variable Environment.- 2.4 Competition for a Single Biotic Resource.- 2.5 Competition for Two Resources.- 2.5.1 Essential vs. Substitutable Resources.- 2.5.2 Abiotic Resources.- 2.5.3 Biotic Resources.- 2.6 Competition for Three Resources.- 2.6.1 Competitive Oscillations.- 2.6.2 Competitive Chaos.- 2.7 Discussion.- References.- 3 Spatial Models of Competition.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Implicitly Spatial Models.- 3.2.1 Single Species Model.- 3.2.2 Two Species Models.- 3.2.3 Conclusion.- 3.3 Explicitly Spatial Models.- 3.3.1 Interacting Particle Systems.- 3.3.2 Point Process Models.- 3.3.3 Pair Approximation and Moment Methods.- 3.3.4 Reaction-Diffusion Models.- 3.4 Comparing and Connecting Methods.- 3.5 Underlying Spatial Heterogeneity.- 3.5.1 Reaction-Diffusion Models.- 3.5.2 Neighborhood Models.- 3.5.3 Patch Models.- 3.5.4 Conclusion.- 3.6 Competition and Coexistence.- 3.7 Future Directions.- 3.7.1 More Work on Environmental Heterogeneit.- 3.7.2 Combining Population and Ecosystem Perspectives.- 3.7.3 Competition for Light Among Terrestrial Plants.- 3.7.4 Evolution and Community Assembly.- References.- 4 Competition and Coexistence in Plankton Communities.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.1.1 What Makes Plankton Competition Special?.- 4.1.2 The Chemostat as an Experimental System.- 4.2 Competition Experiments in Laboratory Microcosms.- 4.2.1 Competition Experiments Under Constant Conditions.- 4.2.2 Competition Experiments Under Temporally Variable Conditions.- 4.3 Experiments in Field Mesocosms.- 4.4 Tests of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis by Field Data.- 4.5 Herbivory and Diversity.- 4.6 The Role of Abundance and of Seasonality.- 4.7 Conclusions.- References.- 5 Competition and Coexistence in Mobile Animals.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Competition Among Mobile Animals.- 5.3 Heterogeneity, Trade-Offs, and Competition.- 5.4 Scale and Heterogeneity.- 5.5 New Challenges.- References.- 6 Competition, Coexistence and Diversity on Rocky Shores.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.1.1 What Distinguishes Rocky Shores from Other Communities?.- 6.1.2 Evolution of Competition Theory.- 6.2 Disruption of Competitive Exclusion: The Non-Equilibrium View.- 6.2.1 Keystone Predation and Herbivory.- 6.2.2 Strong vs. Weak Interactions.- 6.2.3 The Effects of Physical Disturbance.- 6.3 Coexistence Through Trade-Offs: The Equilibrium View.- 6.3.1 The Resource-Ratio Hypothesis.- 6.3.2 The Competitive Hierarchy Hypothesis.- 6.3.3 Intransitive Competitive Networks.- 6.4 Synthesis: Integrating the Effects of Competition, Consumption and Disturbance.- 6.4.1 Consumer vs. Resource Control of Species Diversity.- 6.4.2 An Integrated Competition Model.- 6.5 Conclusion.- 6.5.1 Unifying Competition Theory.- 6.5.2 Competition, Coexistence and the Human Impact.- References.- 7 Competition and Coexistence in Terrestrial Plants.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Competition.- 7.2.1 Resource Competition.- 7.2.2 For Which Resources Do Species Compete?.- 7.2.3 Physiological and Morphological Mechanisms of Competition.- 7.2.4 Competition Summary.- 7.3 Coexistence.- 7.3.1 Neutral Theory of Biodiversity.- 7.3.2 Spatial Heterogeneity.- 7.3.3 Competition-Colonization Trade-Off.- 7.3.4 Temporal Variability.- 7.3.5 Additional Trophic Level.- 7.3.6 Multiple Mechanisms of Coexistence and Limits to Diversity.- 7.3.7 Coexistence Summary.- 7.4 Conclusion.- References.- 8 Synthesis: Back to Santa Rosalia, or No Wonder There Are So Many Species.- 8.1 Trade-Offs.- 8.2 Disturbance, ..
Table of Contents
Introduction / U. Sommer, B. Worm -- Competition in well-mixed habitats : from competitive exclusion to competitive chaos / J. Passarge, J. Huisman -- Spatial models of competition / C.A. Klausmeier, D. Tilman -- Competition and coexistence in plankton communities / U. Sommer -- Competition and coexistence in mobile animals / M. Ritchie -- Competition, coexistence and diversity on rocky shores / B. Worm, R. Karez -- Competition and coexistence in terrestrial plants / J. Fargione, D. Tilman -- Synthesis: back to Santa Rosalia, or no wonder there are so many species / U. Sommer, B. Worm.