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Data from: competition for time: evidence for an overlooked, diversity-maintaining competitive mechanism

Levine, Jacob1; Pacala, Stephen1; Levine, Jonathan1

Published Oct 11, 2023; Updated Mar 14, 2024 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wh70rxwtr

Data files

Oct 11, 2023 version files 322.32 MB
Jan 02, 2024 version files 322.33 MB
Mar 14, 2024 version files 359.20 MB

Abstract

Understanding how diversity is maintained in plant communities requires that we first understand the mechanisms of competition for limiting resources. In ecology, there is an underappreciated, but fundamental distinction between systems in which the depletion of limiting resources reduces the growth rates of competitors versus systems in which resource depletion reduces the time available for competitors to grow, a mechanism we call “competition for time.” Importantly, modern community ecology, and our framing of the coexistence problem are built on the implicit assumption that competition reduces the growth rate. However, recent theoretical work suggests competition for time may be the predominant competitive mechanism in a broad array of natural communities, a significant advance given coexistence follows naturally when species compete for time. In this study we first introduce competition for time conceptually using a simple model of interacting species. Then, we perform an experiment in a Mediterranean annual grassland to determine whether competition for time is an important competitive mechanism in a field system. Indeed, we find that species respond to increased competition through reductions in their lifespan rather than their rate of growth. In total, our study suggests competition for time may be overlooked as a mechanism of biodiversity maintenance.