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Individual differences determine the strength of ecological interactions.

Jason I Griffiths1,2, Dylan Z Childs3, Ronald D Bassar4

  • 1Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom; jasonigriff@gmail.com.

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|July 8, 2020
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Summary

Large guppies exert greater competitive pressure on smaller guppies, demonstrating asymmetric competition. Incorporating this size-dependent competition into models accurately predicts population size structure and reproductive output.

Keywords:
Trinidadian guppiesasymmetric competitionsize structure

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Population Dynamics

Background:

  • Biotic interactions are fundamental to ecological and evolutionary processes.
  • Intraspecific interaction strength is often simplified using population size, neglecting trait-based effects like body size.
  • Previous research suggests traits significantly influence competitive ability, but empirical field data has been limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of body size on intraspecific competition in Trinidadian guppies.
  • To assess whether incorporating size-dependent competition improves ecological models.
  • To understand how competition asymmetry affects population size structure and reproductive output.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized long-term observational data from four distinct guppy populations.
  • Estimated competitive pressure based on individual body size.
  • Developed and compared integral projection models with and without size-dependent competition.

Main Results:

  • Larger guppies imposed significantly greater competitive pressure on smaller guppies, indicating asymmetric competition.
  • Models incorporating size-dependent competition showed predicted size structures closely matching field observations.
  • Failure to account for size asymmetry resulted in less accurate model predictions.

Conclusions:

  • Body size is a critical trait determining competitive asymmetry in intraspecific interactions.
  • Size-dependent competition significantly influences population size structure and reproductive success.
  • Accurate ecological and evolutionary dynamics modeling requires accounting for trait-mediated interactions.