An experimental analysis of the relationship between species combination and community persistence |
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Authors: | T Mitsunaga and Koichi Fujii |
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Institution: | (1) Graduate School of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan Tel. +81-298-53-6858; Fax +81-298-53-6614, JP |
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Abstract: | Among many stabilizing factors for community dynamics, nonlinear biological interactions such as type III functional response
have been widely considered to be major characteristics. However, most experimental biological communities employed so far
had quite simple structures. Therefore, the possibility that the conclusions in earlier studies were dependent on simple community
structure is undeniable. In this study, using a multiple-species experimental community, we evaluated which combinations of
component species and what kinds of interspecific interactions allow communities to persist and how these contribute to community
persistence. We conducted experimental communities using two species of beans, the adzuki bean (Vigna angularis) and the red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), two species of bean weevils, the Mexican bean weevil (Zabrotes subfasciatus, Coleoptera: Bruchidae) and adzuki bean weevil (Callosobruchus chinensis, Coleoptera: Bruchidae), and two species of parasitic wasp, Heterospilus prosopidis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Anisopteromalus calandrae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). The outcome of multiple-generation experimental communities was explained by the characteristics
of component species obtained from short-term experiments. In our two resources–two herbivores–one carnivore system, the strong
density-dependent attack ability of one parasitic wasp species (A. calandrae) led to the extinction of C. chinensis. On the other hand, the weak density-dependent attack ability of the other parasitic wasp species (H. prosopidis) led to system persistence. Our overall results show that, in a multiple-species community, the combination of species itself
is more important for community persistence than are the characteristics of the particular species.
Received: September 29, 1997 / Accepted: October 5, 1998 |
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Keywords: | Biological interaction Density dependence Functional response |
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