title: Synchronous dynamics of zooplankton competitors prevail in temperate lake ecosystems.
abstract: Although competing species are expected to exhibit compensatory dynamics (negative temporal covariation), empirical work has demonstrated that competitive communities often exhibit synchronous dynamics (positive temporal covariation). This has led to the suggestion that environmental forcing dominates species dynamics; however, synchronous and compensatory dynamics may appear at different length scales and/or at different times, making it challenging to identify their relative importance. We compiled 58 long-term datasets of zooplankton abundance in north-temperate and sub-tropical lakes and used wavelet analysis to quantify general patterns in the times and scales at which synchronous/compensatory dynamics dominated zooplankton communities in different regions and across the entire dataset. Synchronous dynamics were far more prevalent at all scales and times and were ubiquitous at the annual scale. Although we found compensatory dynamics in approximately 14% of all combinations of time period/scale/lake, there were no consistent scales or time periods during which compensatory dynamics were apparent across different regions. Our results suggest that the processes driving compensatory dynamics may be local in their extent, while those generating synchronous dynamics operate at much larger scales. This highlights an important gap in our understanding of the interaction between environmental and biotic forces that structure communities.
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA david.vasseur@yale.edu.
authors: David A
authors: DA
authors: Vasseur
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4.
authors: Jeremy W
authors: JW
authors: Fox
authors: Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Gonzalez
authors: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
authors: Rita
authors: R
authors: Adrian
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3P8.
authors: Beatrix E
authors: BE
authors: Beisner
authors: Department of Animal Ecology, Amsterdam Global Change Institute, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam 1081 HV, Netherlands.
authors: Matthew R
authors: MR
authors: Helmus
authors: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada B2Y 4A2.
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Johnson
authors: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
authors: Pavel
authors: P
authors: Kratina
authors: W. K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors: Colin
authors: C
authors: Kremer
authors: Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Station d'Ecologie Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique à Moulis, Moulis 09200, France.
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: de Mazancourt
authors: W. K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Miller
authors: Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
authors: William A
authors: WA
authors: Nelson
authors: IISD-Experimental Lakes Area, 161 Portage Ave East 6th Floor, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 0Y4.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Paterson
authors: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Dorset Environmental Science Centre, Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0.
authors: James A
authors: JA
authors: Rusak
authors: Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive #0116, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
authors: Jonathan B
authors: JB
authors: Shurin
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors: Christopher F
authors: CF
authors: Steiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058448:Biota; D003445:Crustacea / Q000502:physiology*; D005060:Europe; D060106:Lakes; D008954:Models, Biological; D009656:North America; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors; D058067:Wavelet Analysis; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: compensatory dynamics; synchrony; wavelet; zooplankton