Document Detail


Opposing effects of competitive exclusion on the phylogenetic structure of communities.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20576030     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Though many processes are involved in determining which species coexist and assemble into communities, competition is among the best studied. One hypothesis about competition's contribution to community assembly is that more closely related species are less likely to coexist. Though empirical evidence for this hypothesis is mixed, it remains a common assumption in certain phylogenetic approaches for inferring the effects of environmental filtering and competitive exclusion. Here, we relate modern coexistence theory to phylogenetic community assembly approaches to refine expectations for how species relatedness influences the outcome of competition. We argue that two types of species differences determine competitive exclusion with opposing effects on relatedness patterns. Importantly, this means that competition can sometimes eliminate more different and less related taxa, even when the traits underlying the relevant species differences are phylogenetically conserved. Our argument leads to a reinterpretation of the assembly processes inferred from community phylogenetic structure.
Authors:
Margaret M Mayfield; Jonathan M Levine
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.     Date:  2010-06-23
Journal Detail:
Title:  Ecology letters     Volume:  13     ISSN:  1461-0248     ISO Abbreviation:  Ecol. Lett.     Publication Date:  2010 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-23     Completed Date:  2010-12-14     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101121949     Medline TA:  Ecol Lett     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1085-93     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia. m.mayfield@uq.edu.au
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Biodiversity*
Competitive Behavior
Models, Theoretical
Phylogeny*
Plants / classification,  growth & development*
Species Specificity

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