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The storage effect due to frequency-dependent predation in multispecies plant communities
Peter Chesson1, Jessica J Kuang
1Department of Ecology and Evolution Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States. pchesson@u.arizona.edu
Theoretical Population Biology
|July 6, 2010
Summary
Frequency-dependent seed predation (FDP) can promote plant coexistence. Flexible predator behavior allows a storage effect due to predation (SEp) to arise, partially rescuing the storage effect from competition (SEc).
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Dynamics
- Community Ecology
Background:
- Frequency-dependent seed predation (FDP) is a key mechanism for plant coexistence in models.
- The storage effect from competition (SEc) relies on environmental fluctuations affecting competition.
- FDP can undermine SEc, and a storage effect from predation (SEp) may not arise due to time lags.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how a storage effect from predation (SEp) can arise with multispecies FDP.
- To determine if SEp can compensate for the reduction in SEc caused by FDP.
- To explore the role of predator behavior flexibility in SEp formation.
Main Methods:
- Modeling multispecies frequency-dependent seed predation (FDP).
- Analyzing a two-species model with density-dependent frequency-dependence.
- Simulating scenarios with flexible versus long-term averaged predator preferences.
Main Results:
- SEp can arise with multispecies FDP when predators exhibit flexible, within-year adaptive behavior.
- Flexible predator preferences partially compensate for the reduction in SEc caused by FDP.
- When predator preferences track multi-year averages, FDP undermines SEc without generating SEp.
Conclusions:
- Flexible predator behavior is crucial for generating a storage effect from predation (SEp).
- SEp can partially rescue the storage effect from competition (SEc) in the presence of FDP.
- Predator response time scale significantly influences the interplay between FDP, SEc, and SEp.
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