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The effect of positive interactions on community structure in a multi-species metacommunity model along an environmental gradient

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  • Filotas, Elise
  • Grant, Martin
  • Parrott, Lael
  • Rikvold, Per Arne

Abstract

Positive interactions are widely recognized as playing a major role in the organization of community structure and diversity. As such, recent theoretical and empirical works have revealed the significant contribution of positive interactions in shaping species’ geographical distributions, particularly in harsh abiotic conditions. In this report, we explore the joint influence of local dispersal and an environmental gradient on the spatial distribution, structure and function of communities containing positive interactions. While most previous theoretical efforts were limited to modelling the dynamics of single pairs of associated species being mutualist or competitor, here we employ a spatially explicit multi-species metacommunity model covering a rich range of interspecific interactions (mutualism, competition and exploitation) along an environmental gradient. We find that mutualistic interactions dominate in communities with low diversity characterized by limited species dispersal and poor habitat quality. On the other hand, the fraction of mutualistic interactions decreases at the expense of exploitation and competition with the increase in diversity caused by higher dispersal and/or habitat quality. Our multi-species model exemplifies the ubiquitous presence of mutualistic interactions and the role of mutualistic species as facilitators for the further establishment of species during ecosystem assembly. We therefore argue that mutualism is an essential component driving the origination of complex and diverse communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Filotas, Elise & Grant, Martin & Parrott, Lael & Rikvold, Per Arne, 2010. "The effect of positive interactions on community structure in a multi-species metacommunity model along an environmental gradient," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(6), pages 885-894.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:221:y:2010:i:6:p:885-894
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.12.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. P. A. Venail & R. C. MacLean & T. Bouvier & M. A. Brockhurst & M. E. Hochberg & N. Mouquet, 2008. "Diversity and productivity peak at intermediate dispersal rate in evolving metacommunities," Nature, Nature, vol. 452(7184), pages 210-214, March.
    4. Ugo Bastolla & Miguel A. Fortuna & Alberto Pascual-García & Antonio Ferrera & Bartolo Luque & Jordi Bascompte, 2009. "The architecture of mutualistic networks minimizes competition and increases biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7241), pages 1018-1020, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiao, Sa & Zhao, Liang & Zhang, Jia-Lin & Wang, Xiang-Tai & Chen, Shu-Yan, 2013. "The integration of facilitation into the neutral theory of community assembly," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 127-134.
    2. Chaianunporn, Thotsapol & Hovestadt, Thomas, 2012. "Concurrent evolution of random dispersal and habitat niche width in host-parasitoid systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 241-250.
    3. Sakiyama, Tomoko, 2021. "A power law network in an evolutionary hawk–dove game," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Xuan Huang & Yuting Ding & Ning Pan, 2023. "Dynamic Analysis of Delayed Two-Species Interaction Model with Age Structure: An Application to Larch-Betula Platyphylla Forests in the Daxing’an Mountains, Northeast China," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Ohlmann, Marc & Munoz, François & Massol, François & Thuiller, Wilfried, 2024. "Assessing mutualistic metacommunity capacity by integrating spatial and interaction networks," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 22-39.

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