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Updated: May 12, 2025
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Published on: March 26, 2019
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Competitor-induced plasticity modifies the interactions and predicted competitive outcomes between annual plants
Theo L Gibbs1, Jonathan M Levine2, Martin M Turcotte3
1Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Ecology
|May 7, 2025
Summary
Early competition amplifies plant sensitivity to later competitors, decreasing species coexistence. Phenotypic plasticity, induced by early competition, unexpectedly reduced the likelihood of species surviving together.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Competition influences species interactions and performance.
- Phenotypic plasticity allows species to adjust traits in response to environmental changes.
- Plasticity is hypothesized to promote species coexistence through niche differentiation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate how early-season competition-induced plasticity affects later interspecific interactions.
- To determine if phenotypic plasticity influences the likelihood of pairwise species coexistence.
- To integrate phenotypic plasticity into quantitative models of species coexistence.
Main Methods:
- Four annual plant species were subjected to early-season intraspecific or interspecific competition.
- Plastic responses were induced, and individuals were subsequently exposed to later-life competitors.
- The impact of early competition on sensitivity to later competition was quantified.
Main Results:
- Early-season competition, especially interspecific, increased individuals' sensitivity to later competition.
- The magnitude of this effect varied depending on the focal species.
- Plasticity induced by competition decreased the predicted probability of pairwise species coexistence.
Conclusions:
- Early competition can alter species' responses to future competitive environments.
- Phenotypic plasticity, in this context, may not always promote coexistence.
- This study provides a framework for incorporating plasticity into coexistence theory.
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