Effects of local negative feedbacks on the evolution of species within metacommunities

Local negative feedbacks occur when the occupation of a site by a species decreases the subsequent fitness of related individuals compared to potential competitors. Such negative feedbacks can enhance diversity by changing the spatial structure of the environment. The conditions, however, involve dispersive, environmental and evolutionary processes in complex interactive ways. We introduce a model that accounts for four mechanisms: colonisation-competition-extinction ecological dynamics, evolutionary dynamics, local negative feedbacks and environmental averaging. Three qualitatively distinct dynamics are possible, one dominated by specialists, another dominated by generalists and an intermediate situation exhibiting taxon cycles. We discuss how metacommunity diversity, macro-ecological patterns and environmental patterning are linked to the three qualitative dynamics. The model provides classical shapes for morph-abundance distributions, or diversity-area relationships. Diversity can be high when specialists dominate or when taxon cycles happen. Finally, local negative feedbacks often yield fine-grain environments for taxon cycle dynamics and coarse-grain environments when generalists dominate.