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Effects of phenotypic variation on consumer coexistence and prey community structure
Author(s) -
Hogle Shane L.,
Hepolehto Iina,
Ruokolainen Lasse,
Cairns Johannes,
Hiltunen Teppo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13924
Subject(s) - intraspecific competition , biology , trait , ecology , predation , coexistence theory , foraging , community , competition (biology) , population , niche differentiation , niche , ecosystem , demography , sociology , computer science , programming language
A popular idea in ecology is that trait variation among individuals from the same species may promote the coexistence of competing species. However, theoretical and empirical tests of this idea have yielded inconsistent findings. We manipulated intraspecific trait diversity in a ciliate competing with a nematode for bacterial prey in experimental microcosms. We found that intraspecific trait variation inverted the original competitive hierarchy to favour the consumer with variable traits, ultimately resulting in competitive exclusion. This competitive outcome was driven by foraging traits (size, speed and directionality) that increased the ciliate's fitness ratio and niche overlap with the nematode. The interplay between consumer trait variation and competition resulted in non‐additive cascading effects—mediated through prey defence traits—on prey community assembly. Our results suggest that predicting consumer competitive population dynamics and the assembly of prey communities will require understanding the complexities of trait variation within consumer species.