Using Modern Coexistence Theory to Understand Community Disassembly.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Theoretical Ecology
• Community Ecology

Background:

• Community disassembly studies how species extinction impacts ecological communities.
• Secondary extinctions, triggered by initial species loss, are complex due to intricate species interactions.
• Identifying mechanisms behind secondary extinctions remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize Modern Coexistence Theory for identifying the conditions and causes of secondary extinctions.
• To introduce a novel framework for analyzing community disassembly dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Introduction of the community disassembly graph, utilizing invasion growth rates (IGRs) to detect community state transitions caused by extinction.
• Decomposition of IGRs to elucidate the specific mechanisms driving secondary extinctions.
• Application of the framework to ecological models incorporating competition, facilitation, and predation.

Main Results:

• The community disassembly graph effectively identifies secondary extinction events.
• Decomposition of IGRs reveals the roles of interspecific interactions in secondary extinctions.
• Modern Coexistence Theory provides a robust method for analyzing these dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Modern Coexistence Theory offers a flexible and interpretable approach to understanding secondary extinctions.
• The developed framework aids in predicting and explaining species loss cascades in ecological communities.