Adaptive foraging under stoichiometric constraints can reshape competitive outcomes

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Ecological Stoichiometry
• Evolutionary Ecology

Background:

• The Competitive Exclusion Principle traditionally limits species coexistence based on resource quantity.
• Ecological stoichiometry reveals nutrient ratios (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) influence competition and coexistence.
• Previous models often assume fixed consumer feeding effort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend stoichiometric competition models by incorporating adaptive foraging.
• To investigate how dynamic changes in consumer feeding effort affect competitive outcomes.
• To analyze the conditions under which adaptive foraging promotes species persistence and coexistence.

Main Methods:

• Developed two competition models: one with fixed feeding effort and one with adaptive foraging.
• Analyzed consumer-resource dynamics using analytical and numerical methods.
• Focused on a two-consumer, single-resource system with stoichiometric constraints.

Main Results:

• Adaptive foraging expands conditions for species persistence and stable coexistence.
• Consumer adaptation can reverse dominance hierarchies, enabling inferior competitors to thrive.
• Benefits of adaptation diminish under extreme resource enrichment due to reduced prey quality.
• The speed of adaptation is critical for the initially disadvantaged consumer to benefit.

Conclusions:

• Adaptive foraging under stoichiometric constraints fundamentally alters ecological competition.
• Behavioral plasticity and adaptation are key to maintaining biodiversity in resource-limited environments.
• Highlights the complex interplay between nutrient dynamics, foraging behavior, and evolutionary adaptation.