Winner-Loser Species Replacements in Human-Modified Landscapes

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Tropical Forest Ecology
• Ecosystem Services

Background:

• Community assembly critically influences ecosystem services provision.
• Species coexistence patterns are central to ecological functioning and services.
• Tropical forests are undergoing significant environmental changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a framework for understanding "winner and loser" replacements (WLRs) in tropical forests.
• To integrate the drivers, ecological impacts, and ecosystem service reconfiguration of WLRs.
• To explore the role of WLRs in tropical forest transitions and sustainability.

Main Methods:

• Examined conspicuous cases of "winner and loser" replacements (WLRs) in tropical forests.
• Analyzed drivers of species replacements, focusing on resource availability and competition.
• Assessed impacts on community organization and ecosystem service provisioning.

Main Results:

• Most WLRs involve native species and stem from altered resource availability, not just competition.
• Species dispersal is a major driver of community (re)assembly.
• Replacements lead to significant functional reorganization and altered ecosystem service "packages".

Conclusions:

• WLRs offer insights into tropical forest transitions and ecological reorganization.
• Understanding these dynamics is crucial for managing ecosystem services in changing environments.
• Human-modified landscapes may play a role in global sustainability through these ecological shifts.