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SPACE PREEMPTION, SIZE-DEPENDENT COMPETITION, AND THE COEXISTENCE OF CLONAL GROWTH FORMS

2003; Wiley; Volume: 84; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1890/02-0347

1939-9170

Sean R. Connolly, Soyoka Muko,

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

EcologyVolume 84, Issue 11 p. 2979-2988 Regular Article SPACE PREEMPTION, SIZE-DEPENDENT COMPETITION, AND THE COEXISTENCE OF CLONAL GROWTH FORMS Sean R. Connolly, Sean R. Connolly Centre for Coral Reef Biodiversity, Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia E-mail: sean.connolly@jcu.edu.auSearch for more papers by this authorSoyoka Muko, Soyoka Muko Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, JapanSearch for more papers by this author Sean R. Connolly, Sean R. Connolly Centre for Coral Reef Biodiversity, Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia E-mail: sean.connolly@jcu.edu.auSearch for more papers by this authorSoyoka Muko, Soyoka Muko Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, JapanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 November 2003 https://doi.org/10.1890/02-0347Citations: 24 Corresponding Editor: M. A. Hixon Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Interspecific interactions that produce nontransitive competitive networks have been proposed to promote diversity in a broad range of systems, including coral reefs. In this paper, we model the effect of size-dependent shifts in competitive ability on the coexistence of canopy-forming and understory coral species, and we predict how these shifts influence patterns of community structure along large-scale gradients in disturbance and recruitment limitation. We consider three models, representing a gradient from purely hierarchical competition in which the canopy-former is dominant, to competition involving standoffs and reversals between the understory species and juvenile canopy-formers. Analysis of these models leads to two key conclusions. First, as competition becomes less transitive, coexistence may be promoted or inhibited, depending upon the extent to which the canopy-former can sustain itself by clonal propagation. Specifically, when clonal growth alone is adequate to sustain the canopy-former, increasing nontransitivity promotes coexistence. When it is not, nontransitivity inhibits coexistence. Secondly, size-dependent nontransitivity dramatically changes how gradients in disturbance and recruitment affect species coexistence. In contrast to hierarchical interactions, standoffs and reversals do not show an "intermediate recruitment" phenomenon, in which coexistence is facilitated at intermediate levels of recruitment. Moreover, under hierarchical competition, the dominant always benefits more than the subordinate as recruitment is increasingly facilitated. Under standoffs and reversals, however, increasing recruitment often favors the canopy-former at some levels of disturbance, but the understory species at other levels of disturbance. These results differ markedly from previous models of stage-dependent competition, suggesting that promotion of coexistence by ontogenetic shifts in competitive ability depends upon the mechanisms by which competition occurs in particular ecological contexts. The results also indicate that the effects of gradients in disturbance and recruitment on community structure depend fundamentally on how species compete for space. Citing Literature Supporting Information Filename Description https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3297947 Research data pertaining to this article is located at figshare.com: Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Volume84, Issue11November 2003Pages 2979-2988 RelatedInformation