Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2025
08:16
Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
Published on: March 13, 2014
19.0K
How temporal environmental stochasticity affects species richness: Destabilization, neutralization and the storage
Jayant Pande1, Nadav M Shnerb1
1Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan L52900, Israel.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|February 13, 2022
Summary
Temporal environmental stochasticity (TES) impacts species richness through three mechanisms. While TES can decrease diversity by increasing extinction risk, it also promotes richness by neutralizing fitness differences and enabling inferior species to invade.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Theoretical Ecology
- Biodiversity Research
Background:
- Temporal environmental stochasticity (TES) and demographic rate variations are common in natural ecosystems.
- Biodiversity at equilibrium results from a balance between species addition and extinction rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of TES on species richness in diverse ecological communities.
- To identify and analyze the mechanisms through which TES influences extinction rates and biodiversity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of generic ecological models with fixed speciation rates.
- Focus on how TES impacts extinction rates.
Main Results:
- TES can decrease species richness by increasing abundance variations and shortening extinction times (destabilizing effect).
- TES can increase species richness by blurring fitness differences, leading to more symmetric dynamics (neutralizing effect).
- The storage effect, influenced by TES, can facilitate the invasion of less competitive species, enhancing richness.
Conclusions:
- TES exerts multifaceted effects on species richness, with both destabilizing and diversity-promoting mechanisms.
- The stabilizing effect of the storage effect diminishes in highly diverse communities.
- The net impact of TES on biodiversity depends on the rate of environmental fluctuations relative to other ecological processes.
Keywords:
CoexistenceDemographic stochasticityEnvironmental stochasticityLottery modelNeutralizationSpecies richnessStorage effectTime-averaged neutral modelMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:26Ecological Disturbance
17.6K
An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.
17.6K
01:09Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
59.8K
In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
59.8K
03:33Genetic Drift
41.2K
Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.
41.2K
01:07Speciation Rates
21.7K
Overview
21.7K
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
22.3K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
22.3K
01:46Types of Selection
42.3K
Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
42.3K