A unifying principle for multispecies coexistence under resource fluctuations

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Richardson, James A.; Engelstaedter, Jan; Letten, Andrew D.
• 署名单位: University of Queensland
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-9641
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2424996122
• 发表日期: 2025-06-13
• 关键词: variable environment; species coexistence; COMPETITION; phytoplankton; biodiversity; maintenance; disturbance; mechanisms; DYNAMICS; plankton

摘要

Resource fluctuations are ubiquitous in nature and yet are generally assumed to play a limited role in the maintenance of biodiversity. We challenge this assumption by analyzing resource competition dynamics under conditions where prevailing theory does not hold. We show that multispecies coexistence can be sustained when species are able to specialize on different temporal patterns of resource variability, including the asymmetries and periodic extremes commonly observed in natural systems. We further show how this partitioning of the statistical moments of the resource distribution provides a unified framework for explaining coexistence in variable resource environments. The multiplicity of niches we find in a single fluctuating resource highlights the potential for anthropogenic changes in resource regimes to drive cascading biodiversity losses.