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. 1997 Feb 18;94(4):1252-7.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.4.1252.

Strong density- and diversity-related effects help to maintain tree species diversity in a neotropical forest

C Wills  1 , R Condit, R B Foster, S P Hubbell
Affiliations

Strong density- and diversity-related effects help to maintain tree species diversity in a neotropical forest

C Wills et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Intraspecific density-dependent effects in the Barro Colorado Island (Panama) study area are far stronger, and involve far more species, than previously had been suspected. Significant effects on recruitment, many extremely strong, are seen for 67 out of the 84 most common species in the plot, including the 10 most common. Significant effects on the intrinsic rate of increase are seen in 54 of the 84 species. These effects are far more common than interspecific effects, and are predominantly of the type that should maintain tree diversity. As a result, the more diverse an area in the forest is, the higher is the overall rate of increase of the trees in that area, although sheer crowding has by itself a negative effect. These findings are consistent with, but do not prove, an important role for host-pathogen interactions (defined broadly) in the maintenance of diversity. Ways are suggested by which to test host-pathogen models and competing models.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of species that show significant density-dependent effects on r, as a function of the abundance of the species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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