EEB321H1 Study Guide - Final Guide: Beta Diversity, Niche Differentiation, Competitive Exclusion Principle
4 May 2015
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Document Summary
Hubbell asked: what if the generality of the patterns observed suggests that there are general rules that apply to all communitiesbecause they are virtually indistinguishable? (functioning is exact same way). Coexistence is unstable because there is no mechanism that keeps any species from going extinct. Metacommunity: many communities linked through limited dispersal. Increased dispersal means that there is a greater chance of higher species rank diversity. Neutral models t the data well (rank abundance vs. percentage of all individuals) shows that species differences can do a better job of species predicted to observe. Neutral theory can be used to t the emergence Wooton (2005): tested neutral theory on piaster star sh freeing up space for another species in the community (mussels). Removed mussels from treatment plots for ~ 7 years which opened up space and doesn"t have role-just lls the niche. Ts pattern, it does not t predicted outcomes.
