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Diversity is maintained by seasonal variation in species abundance
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dc.contributor.author | Shimadzu, Hideyasu | |
dc.contributor.author | Dornelas, Maria | |
dc.contributor.author | Henderson, Peter A | |
dc.contributor.author | Magurran, Anne | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2013-12-16T12:01:01Z | |
dc.date.available | 2013-12-16T12:01:01Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2013-09-04 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Shimadzu , H , Dornelas , M , Henderson , P A & Magurran , A 2013 , ' Diversity is maintained by seasonal variation in species abundance ' , BMC Biology , vol. 11 , no. September , 98 . https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-11-98 | en |
dc.identifier.issn | 1741-7007 | |
dc.identifier.other | PURE: 70880073 | |
dc.identifier.other | PURE UUID: e71a0766-9784-43ee-a4f5-9377b112aecc | |
dc.identifier.other | Scopus: 84883304957 | |
dc.identifier.other | ORCID: /0000-0002-0036-2795/work/43550237 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/4300 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background Some of the most marked temporal fluctuations in species abundances are linked to seasons. In theory, multi-species assemblages can persist if species use shared resources at different times, thereby minimizing inter-specific competition. However, there is scant empirical evidence supporting these predictions and, to our knowledge, seasonal variation has never been explored in the context of fluctuation-mediated coexistence. Results Using an exceptionally well-documented estuarine fish assemblage, sampled monthly for over 30 years, we show that temporal shifts in species abundances underpin species coexistence. Species fall into distinct seasonal groups, within which spatial resource use is more heterogeneous than would be expected by chance at those times when competition for food is most intense. We also detect seasonal variation in the richness and evenness of the community, again linked to shifts in resource availability. Conclusion These results reveal that spatio-temporal shifts in community composition minimize competitive interactions and help stabilize total abundance. | |
dc.format.extent | 9 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.ispartof | BMC Biology | en |
dc.rights | © 2013 Shimadzu et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | en |
dc.title | Diversity is maintained by seasonal variation in species abundance | en |
dc.type | Journal article | en |
dc.description.version | Publisher PDF | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. School of Biology | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Fish Behaviour and Biodiversity Research Group | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. St Andrews Sustainability Institute | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Centre for Biological Diversity | en |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-11-98 | |
dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
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