A mathematical synthesis of niche and neutral theories in community ecology.
The debate between niche-based and neutral community theories centers around the question of which forces shape predominantly ecological communities. Niche theory attributes a central role to niche differences between species, which generate a difference between the strength of intra- and interspecific interactions. Neutral theory attributes a central role to migration processes and demographic stochasticity. One possibility to bridge these two theories is to combine them in a common mathematical framework. Here we propose a mathematical model that integrates the two perspectives. From a niche-based perspective, our model can be interpreted as a Lotka-Volterra model with symmetric interactions in which we introduce immigration and demographic stochasticity. From a neutral perspective, it can be interpreted as Hubbell's local community model in which we introduce a difference between intra- and interspecific interactions. We investigate the stationary species abundance distribution and other community properties as functions of the interaction coefficient, the immigration rate and the strength of demographic stochasticity.
Haegeman
Bart
B
INRIA Research Team MERE, UMR MISTEA, 2 Place Pierre Viala, 34060 Montpellier, France. bart.haegeman@inria.fr
Loreau
Michel
M
D058448:Biota; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008954:Models, Biological; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013269:Stochastic Processes