title: Quantifying Competitive Exclusion and Competitive Release in Ecological Communities: A Conceptual Framework and a Case Study.
abstract: A fundamental notion in community ecology is that local species diversity reflects some balance between the contrasting forces of competitive exclusion and competitive release. Quantifying this balance is not trivial, and requires data on the magnitude of both processes in the same system, as well as appropriate methodology to integrate and interpret such data. Here we present a novel framework for empirical studies of the balance between competitive exclusion and competitive release and demonstrate its applicability using data from a Mediterranean annual grassland where grazing is a major mechanism of competitive release. Empirical data on the balance between competitive exclusion and competitive release are crucial for understanding observed patterns of variation in local species diversity and the proposed approach provides a simple framework for the collection, interpretation, and synthesis of such data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Hila
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Segre
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Niv
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: DeMalach
authors.affiliation: Beef Cattle Section, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, Department of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Ramat Yishay, Israel.
authors.forename: Zalmen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Henkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kadmon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D058448:Biota; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D065948:Grassland; D060434:Herbivory; D008954:Models, Biological; D006109:Poaceae / Q000502:physiology