Theory 73/Ecosystem/Metacommunities
Diversity Balances Dispersal and Competition
The claim
Metacommunity diversity peaks at an intermediate ratio of dispersal to competition, because too little dispersal prevents recolonisation and too much prevents specialisation.
01Mechanism
Dispersal subsidises poor competitors and erodes local adaptation; the balance sets regional richness.
02Prediction
Diversity should peak at an intermediate ratio.
03Refutation
Diversity increasing with dispersal would remove the competition term.