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Distance‐limited dispersal promotes coexistence at habitat boundaries: reconsidering the competitive exclusion principle
Author(s) -
Débarre Florence,
Lenormand Thomas
Publication year - 2011
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/j.1461-0248.2010.01580.x
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , ecology , maladaptation , habitat , biology , generalist and specialist species , coexistence theory , metapopulation , population , competition (biology) , genetics , demography , sociology
Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 260–266 Abstract Understanding the conditions for the stable coexistence of different alleles or species is a central topic in theoretical evolution and ecology. Different causes for stable polymorphism or species coexistence have already been identified but they can be grouped into a limited number of general processes. This article is devoted to the presentation and illustration of a new process, which we call ‘habitat boundary polymorphism’, and which relies on two key ingredients: habitat heterogeneity and distance‐limited dispersal. Under direct competition and with fixed population densities, we show that this process allows for the equilibrium coexistence of more than n types in a n ‐habitat environment. Distance‐limited dispersal indeed creates local maladaptation at habitat edges, which leaves room for the invasion of more generalist alleles or species. This mechanism provides a generic yet neglected process for the maintenance of polymorphism or species coexistence.