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On the mismatch in the strength of competition among fossil and modern species of planktonic Foraminifera

On the mismatch in the strength of competition among fossil and modern species of planktonic Foraminifera
On the mismatch in the strength of competition among fossil and modern species of planktonic Foraminifera
Aim
Many clades display the macroevolutionary pattern of a negative relationship between standing diversity and diversification rates. Competition among species has been proposed as the main mechanism that explains this pattern. However, we currently lack empirical insight into how the effects of individual‐level ecological interactions scale up to affect species diversification. Here, we investigate a clade that shows evidence for negative diversity‐dependent diversification in the fossil record and test whether the clade's modern communities show a corresponding signal of interspecific competition.

Location
World's oceans.
Time period
Holocene.
Major taxa studied
Planktonic Foraminifera (Rhizaria).

Methods
We explore spatial and temporal ecological patterns expected under interspecific competition. Firstly, we use a community phylogenetics approach to test for signs of local competitive exclusion among ecologically similar species (defined as closely related or of similar shell sizes) by combining species relative abundances in seafloor sediments. Secondly, we analyse whether population abundances of co‐occurring species covary negatively through time using sediment trap time‐series spanning 1–12 years.

Results
The great majority of the assemblages are indistinguishable from randomly assembled communities, showing no significant spatial co‐occurrence patterns regarding phylogeny or size similarity. Through time, most species pairs correlated positively, indicating synchronous rather than compensatory population dynamics.

Main conclusions
We found no detectable evidence for interspecific competition structuring extant planktonic Foraminifera communities. Species co‐occurrences and population dynamics are likely regulated by the abiotic environment and/or distantly related species, rather than intra‐clade density‐dependent processes. This interpretation contradicts the idea that competition drives the clade's macroevolutionary dynamics. One way to better integrate community ecology and macroevolution is to consider that diversification dynamics are influenced by groups that interact ecologically even when distantly related.
1466-822X
1866-1878
Rillo, Marina C.
07ef3ed2-cf06-4d61-8c10-1acd1420ff43
Sugawara, Mauro T. C.
2bbf1a63-e9b0-428c-802f-170073504cc3
Cabella, Brenno
de85711b-7310-408b-9b1d-17521e9a6e59
Jonkers, Lukas
3ade20ae-7ed4-40c9-8bc1-4d03386f68eb
Baranowski, Ulrike K.
b6db1f30-0843-4bb5-830a-d69f6826e670
Kučera, Michal
60f5b0d0-b552-45f9-96c0-f4a7004643ba
Ezard, Thomas H. G.
a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374
Tittensor, Derek
622a9312-f8f1-4639-a860-97023a0c0975
Rillo, Marina C.
07ef3ed2-cf06-4d61-8c10-1acd1420ff43
Sugawara, Mauro T. C.
2bbf1a63-e9b0-428c-802f-170073504cc3
Cabella, Brenno
de85711b-7310-408b-9b1d-17521e9a6e59
Jonkers, Lukas
3ade20ae-7ed4-40c9-8bc1-4d03386f68eb
Baranowski, Ulrike K.
b6db1f30-0843-4bb5-830a-d69f6826e670
Kučera, Michal
60f5b0d0-b552-45f9-96c0-f4a7004643ba
Ezard, Thomas H. G.
a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374
Tittensor, Derek
622a9312-f8f1-4639-a860-97023a0c0975

Rillo, Marina C., Sugawara, Mauro T. C., Cabella, Brenno, Jonkers, Lukas, Baranowski, Ulrike K., Kučera, Michal and Ezard, Thomas H. G. , Tittensor, Derek (ed.) (2019) On the mismatch in the strength of competition among fossil and modern species of planktonic Foraminifera. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28 (12), 1866-1878. (doi:10.1111/geb.13000).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Aim
Many clades display the macroevolutionary pattern of a negative relationship between standing diversity and diversification rates. Competition among species has been proposed as the main mechanism that explains this pattern. However, we currently lack empirical insight into how the effects of individual‐level ecological interactions scale up to affect species diversification. Here, we investigate a clade that shows evidence for negative diversity‐dependent diversification in the fossil record and test whether the clade's modern communities show a corresponding signal of interspecific competition.

Location
World's oceans.
Time period
Holocene.
Major taxa studied
Planktonic Foraminifera (Rhizaria).

Methods
We explore spatial and temporal ecological patterns expected under interspecific competition. Firstly, we use a community phylogenetics approach to test for signs of local competitive exclusion among ecologically similar species (defined as closely related or of similar shell sizes) by combining species relative abundances in seafloor sediments. Secondly, we analyse whether population abundances of co‐occurring species covary negatively through time using sediment trap time‐series spanning 1–12 years.

Results
The great majority of the assemblages are indistinguishable from randomly assembled communities, showing no significant spatial co‐occurrence patterns regarding phylogeny or size similarity. Through time, most species pairs correlated positively, indicating synchronous rather than compensatory population dynamics.

Main conclusions
We found no detectable evidence for interspecific competition structuring extant planktonic Foraminifera communities. Species co‐occurrences and population dynamics are likely regulated by the abiotic environment and/or distantly related species, rather than intra‐clade density‐dependent processes. This interpretation contradicts the idea that competition drives the clade's macroevolutionary dynamics. One way to better integrate community ecology and macroevolution is to consider that diversification dynamics are influenced by groups that interact ecologically even when distantly related.

Text
Rillo_et_al-2019-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 19 July 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 September 2019
Published date: December 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 435965
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/435965
ISSN: 1466-822X
PURE UUID: fb13df9a-76ed-4dce-b49a-517244e6ed06
ORCID for Thomas H. G. Ezard: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8305-6605

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:31

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Contributors

Author: Marina C. Rillo
Author: Mauro T. C. Sugawara
Author: Brenno Cabella
Author: Lukas Jonkers
Author: Ulrike K. Baranowski
Author: Michal Kučera
Author: Thomas H. G. Ezard ORCID iD
Editor: Derek Tittensor

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