On testing the competition-colonization trade-off in a multispecies assemblage.
The competition-colonization trade-off has long been considered an important mechanism explaining species coexistence in spatially structured environments, yet data supporting it remain ambiguous. Most competition-colonization research examines plants and the dispersal-linked traits of their seeds. However, colonization is more than just dispersal because rapid population growth is also an important component of colonization. We tested for the presence of competition-colonization trade-offs with a commonly used artificial assemblage consisting of protozoan and rotifer species, where colonization was the ability of a species to establish populations in patches. By ranking species according to their colonization abilities and their pairwise competitive interactions, we show that these species exhibit competition-colonization trade-offs. These results reveal that the competition-colonization trade-off exists within nonplant assemblages and that even in a laboratory setting, species are constrained to be either good competitors or colonizers but not both.
Cadotte
Marc William
MW
Complex Systems Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA. cadotte@lifesci.ucsb.edu
Mai
Donny V
DV
Jantz
Samuel
S
Collins
Michael D
MD
Keele
Monica
M
Drake
James A
JA
D000818:Animals; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003710:Demography; D017753:Ecosystem; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012403:Rotifera / Q000502:physiology