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Switch between competition and facilitation within a seasonal scale at colony level in bryophytes

  • Physiological ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

The relative importance of positive and negative interaction in species assemblages is thought to be dependent on the harshness of the physical environment. I studied the consistency of this prediction in a field experiment using growth of the target species Warnstorfia exannulata as influenced by the presence or absence of two adjacent species, Sphagnum warnstorfii and Scapania undulata. In particular, I focused on the mechanism by which colony–colony interactions occur, elucidating how the balance of positive and negative interactions changes along a water gradient. Because the natural fluctuations of the environment modify the water gradient, it was expected that the competitive hierarchies of the species would not remain consistent over time. Results indicated that the different hydrological properties of the colonies, thought to be the necessary condition for the appearance of species interactions, were not sufficient to explain the outcome of the species interactions. The switch from competition to facilitation under more stressful conditions was not confirmed along a water stress gradient. In addition, natural climatic fluctuations, by affecting the length of the water gradient, changed the competitive hierarchies of the species on a seasonal scale.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the CRENODAT Project (Biodiversity assessment and integrity evaluation of springs of Trentino (Italian Alps) and long-term ecological research) financed by the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy). I would thank Spitale Calogero, Martini Erina, Nicola Angeli, Manel Leira and Alessia Scalfi for field assistance and Penelope Haccius for linguistic editing. Prof. Lamberto Soliani contributed to the statistical analysis together with Laura Tamburello who gave also invaluable comments on the first draft of the manuscript. I am grateful also to the Editor Allan Green and the four anonymous referees for the many helpful comments.

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  1. Limnology and Phycology Section, Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, via Calepina 14, 38100, Trento, Italy

    Daniel Spitale

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  1. Daniel Spitale
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Correspondence to Daniel Spitale.

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Communicated by Allan Green.

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Spitale, D. Switch between competition and facilitation within a seasonal scale at colony level in bryophytes. Oecologia 160, 471–482 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1324-y

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