Journal
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 366-377Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ele.13925
Keywords
C. elegans; coexistence; consumer-resource model; directed movement; experiment; theory
Categories
Funding
- McIntire-Stennis fund
- Oklahoma State University
- UC Davis
- NSF [1853561, 1844657, 1817124]
- NSFC
- NIH [NS086932]
- Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station
- Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Science program
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1817124] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1844657] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Mathematical Sciences [1817124] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Mathematical Sciences
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1853561] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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This study experimentally confirmed the theory that species with slower diffusion prevail in heterogeneous environments, and found that moderate levels of directed movement allow species to coexist. These results broaden the theory of species coexistence in heterogeneous space and provide empirical confirmation of mathematical predictions.
Understanding mechanisms of coexistence is a central topic in ecology. Mathematical analysis of models of competition between two identical species moving at different rates of symmetric diffusion in heterogeneous environments show that the slower mover excludes the faster one. The models have not been tested empirically and lack inclusions of a component of directed movement toward favourable areas. To address these gaps, we extended previous theory by explicitly including exploitable resource dynamics and directed movement. We tested the mathematical results experimentally using laboratory populations of the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results not only support the previous theory that the species diffusing at a slower rate prevails in heterogeneous environments but also reveal that moderate levels of a directed movement component on top of the diffusive movement allow species to coexist. Our results broaden the theory of species coexistence in heterogeneous space and provide empirical confirmation of the mathematical predictions.
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