Abstract
In the past two decades there has been a high-profile debate between two frameworks for exploring biodiversity in ecology: the niche-based framework and the neutral framework. This paper discusses contrasting approaches to forge a causal relationship between the niche theory and the neutral theory. The first approach suggests that evolution for niche differentiation may lead to neutrality, and the second suggests that evolution for niche convergence may do so. Although counterintuitive and rarely considered, here I argue that the differentiation hypothesis is more promising. As will be demonstrated, adopting this hypothesis has notable implications for how the neutral theory is received.
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Notes
Conversely, niche equivalence is consistent with demographic non-equivalence. To name one example, say that species share the same niche but there is negative density dependence. That is, there is an advantage in being a minority, e.g., reduced risk of parasitism or predation. Here the species are not necessarily demographically equivalent: their survival or reproduction chances need not be equal. Rather, what is important in this scenario is the tradeoff between being a stronger competitor (niche effect) and suffering from an increased population size (density dependence effect) (Wilson, 1990). Since the paper is concerned with the assumption of neutrality, such cases are not discussed further.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Arnon Levy, Philippe Huneman, Aya Evron and Jonathan Najenson for their valuable comments on this paper. James Rosindall and an anonymous reviewer provided insightful feedback.
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Halperin, T. Niches and ecological neutrality. Synthese 202, 69 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-023-04278-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-023-04278-0