Pervasive within-species spatial repulsion among adult tropical trees

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kalyuzhny, Michael; Lake, Jeffrey K.; Wright, S. Joseph; Ostling, Annette M.
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-12299
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg7021
• 发表日期: 2023-08-04
• 页码: 563-568
• 关键词: negative density-dependence; seed dispersal; habitat associations; plant diversity; beta-diversity; neutral theory; patterns; survival; forest; limitation

摘要

For species to coexist, performance must decline as the density of conspecific individuals increases. Although evidence for such conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) exists in forests, the within-species spatial repulsion it should produce has rarely been demonstrated in adults. In this study, we show that in comparison to a null model of stochastic birth, death, and limited dispersal, the adults of dozens of tropical forest tree species show strong spatial repulsion, some to surprising distances of approximately 100 meters. We used simulations to show that such strong repulsion can only occur if CNDD considerably exceeds heterospecific negative density dependence-an even stronger condition required for coexistence-and that large-scale repulsion can indeed result from small-scale CNDD. These results demonstrate substantial niche differences between species that may stabilize species diversity.