Data from hundreds of natural communities show that rare species share more positive associations with each other than abundant species, which tend to be more segregated. These patterns are consistent with facilitation for rare species and competition for abundant ones, and hold true across taxa and biogeographic regions.
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Hines, J., Keil, P. Common competitors and rare friends. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 8–9 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1071-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1071-3
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