BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Specific sequence of arrival promotes coexistence via spatial niche pre‐emption by the weak competitor

Participants in the publication
Inês Fragata (Author)
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA
Dep. Biologia Animal
cE3c
Raul Costa‐Pereira (Author)
Mariya Kozak (Author)
cE3c/FCUL
Agnieszka Majer (Author)
Oscar Godoy (Author)
Sara Magalhães (Author)
Dep. Biologia Animal
Dep. Biologia Animal
cE3c

Summary
Historical contingency, such as the order of species arrival, can modify competitive outcomes via niche modification or pre-emption. However, how these mechanisms ultimately modify stabilising niche and average fitness differences remains largely unknown. By experimentally assembling two congeneric spider mite species feeding on tomato plants during two generations, we show that order of arrival affects species’ competitive ability and changes the outcome of competition. Contrary to expectations, order of arrival did not cause positive frequency dependent priority effects. Instead, coexistence was predicted when the inferior competitor (Tetranychus urticae) arrived first. In that case, T. urticae colonised the preferred feeding stratum (leaves) of T. evansi leading to spatial niche pre-emption, which equalised fitness and reduced niche differences, driving community assembly to a close-to-neutrality scenario. Our study demonstrates how the order of species arrival and the spatial context of competitive interactions may jointly determine whether species can coexist.


Where published
Ecology Letters

Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 1461-023X

Publisher
Wiley



Document Identifiers
DOI - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14021
URL - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14021

Rankings
SCIMAGO Q1 (2022) - 5.673 - Ecology

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