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Environmental dimensionality determines species coexistence.

Kalle Parvinen1, Johan A J Metz2, Ulf Dieckmann3

  • 1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Turku, FI-20014, Finland; Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg A-2361, Austria.

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|April 26, 2020
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The environmental dimension, a refined ecological concept, precisely quantifies species coexistence by defining the minimum number of variables needed to describe community dynamics. This new definition ensures consistency across different fitness proxies, offering a robust measure for ecological stability.

Keywords:
Competitive exclusionFitness proxyImpact mapInvasion fitnessPopulation regulationSensitivity map

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Theoretical Ecology
  • Mathematical Biology

Background:

  • The competitive-exclusion principle states that the number of regulating variables (n) bounds the number of coexisting species.
  • Existing methods for determining community dynamics can be ambiguous due to the choice of fitness proxies.
  • A consistent measure of environmental feedback is needed to accurately predict species coexistence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a refined definition of environmental dimension that is unambiguous and independent of fitness proxy choice.
  • To develop a constructive method for calculating environmental dimension without infinite assessments.
  • To establish the environmental dimension as a generalized and sharp upper bound for species coexistence.

Main Methods:

  • Defined environmental dimension based on neutral fitness contours.
  • Analyzed the impact map (species' effect on regulating variables) and sensitivity map (growth rate dependence on variables).
  • Investigated the interplay between impact and sensitivity maps to determine the minimum environmental dimension.

Main Results:

  • The refined environmental dimension definition is unambiguous and applicable across different fitness proxies.
  • The environmental dimension can be determined by analyzing the dimensions of the impact and sensitivity maps.
  • The combined effect of impact and sensitivity maps can yield an environmental dimension lower than either map individually.

Conclusions:

  • The environmental dimension provides a consistent and constructive measure of environmental feedback.
  • This dimension serves as the ultimate generalization of 'number of regulating variables' or 'limiting factors'.
  • The environmental dimension offers the sharpest generally applicable upper bound on the number of coexisting species in a community.