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Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gibert, JP; Brassil, CE
Published in: Ecology and evolution
September 2014

Natural populations often show variation in traits that can affect the strength of interspecific interactions. Interaction strengths in turn influence the fate of pairwise interacting populations and the stability of food webs. Understanding the mechanisms relating individual phenotypic variation to interaction strengths is thus central to assess how trait variation affects population and community dynamics. We incorporated nonheritable variation in attack rates and handling times into a classical consumer-resource model to investigate how variation may alter interaction strengths, population dynamics, species persistence, and invasiveness. We found that individual variation influences species persistence through its effect on interaction strengths. In many scenarios, interaction strengths decrease with variation, which in turn affects species coexistence and stability. Because environmental change alters the direction and strength of selection acting upon phenotypic traits, our results have implications for species coexistence in a context of habitat fragmentation, climate change, and the arrival of exotic species to native ecosystems.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Ecology and evolution

DOI

EISSN

2045-7758

ISSN

2045-7758

Publication Date

September 2014

Volume

4

Issue

18

Start / End Page

3703 / 3713

Related Subject Headings

  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Gibert, J. P., & Brassil, C. E. (2014). Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system. Ecology and Evolution, 4(18), 3703–3713. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1212
Gibert, Jean P., and Chad E. Brassil. “Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system.Ecology and Evolution 4, no. 18 (September 2014): 3703–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1212.
Gibert JP, Brassil CE. Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system. Ecology and evolution. 2014 Sep;4(18):3703–13.
Gibert, Jean P., and Chad E. Brassil. “Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system.Ecology and Evolution, vol. 4, no. 18, Sept. 2014, pp. 3703–13. Epmc, doi:10.1002/ece3.1212.
Gibert JP, Brassil CE. Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer-resource system. Ecology and evolution. 2014 Sep;4(18):3703–3713.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ecology and evolution

DOI

EISSN

2045-7758

ISSN

2045-7758

Publication Date

September 2014

Volume

4

Issue

18

Start / End Page

3703 / 3713

Related Subject Headings

  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology