Increasing resource specialization among competitors shifts control of diversity from local to spatial processes

Citation
Sa. Frank et P. Amarasekare, Increasing resource specialization among competitors shifts control of diversity from local to spatial processes, ECOL LETT, 1(1), 1998, pp. 3-5
Citations number
10
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
ECOLOGY LETTERS
ISSN journal
1461-023X → ACNP
Volume
1
Issue
1
Year of publication
1998
Pages
3 - 5
Database
ISI
SICI code
1461-023X(199807)1:1<3:IRSACS>2.0.ZU;2-S
Abstract
We argue that an increase in the number of specialized consumers can shift the control of ecological dynamics from local to spatial processes. When th ere are only a few specialized types, local dynamics maintains most types w ithin each patch. As the number of types increases, the probability of loca l extinction rises. Subsequent colonizations perturb local dynamics, settin g off another round of extinctions and the potential for later recolonizati on. Global processes of colonization and extinction reduce local diversity and increase differentiation among patches. We draw an analogy between the specificity of host-parasite genetics and the specificity of consumer-resou rce pairs.