Eco‐evolutionary dynamics of interference competition

Theorists have identified several mechanisms through which species that compete exploitatively for resources could coexist. By contrast, under the current theory, interference competitors could coexist only in rare circumstances. Yet, some types of interference competition, such as interspecific ter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2022-10, Vol.25 (10), p.2167-2176
Main Authors: Grether, Gregory F., Okamoto, Kenichi W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological evolution
Coexistence
Competition
competitive exclusion
Endangered & extinct species
Genetic diversity
Interference
interference competition
interspecific territoriality
Life cycles
Natural selection
Population number
Red Queen hypothesis
Species extinction
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Summary:Theorists have identified several mechanisms through which species that compete exploitatively for resources could coexist. By contrast, under the current theory, interference competitors could coexist only in rare circumstances. Yet, some types of interference competition, such as interspecific territoriality, are common. This mismatch between theory and nature inspired us to model interference competition in an eco‐evolutionary framework. We based the model on the life cycle of territorial birds and ran simulations to examine whether natural selection could rescue a superior interference competitor from extinction without driving a superior exploitative competitor extinct. We found that coexistence between interference competitors can occur over a wide range of ecologically plausible scenarios, and up to the highest levels of resource overlap. An important caveat is that coexistence requires the species to co‐evolve. Reductions in population size and levels of genetic variation could destabilise coexistence between interference competitors, and thereby increase extinction rates over current estimates. How can species that engage in mutually costly forms of interference competition, such as territoriality, coexist? We approached this question with an eco‐evolutionary model based on territorial birds and found that territoriality can stabilize coexistence, but only if the species are able to coevolve. This is an important contribution to coexistence theory with real‐world implications.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.14091