Rainfall variability maintains grass‐forb species coexistence

Edaphic adaptation maintains the coexistence of two cryptic species on serpentine soils.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Divergent edaphic adaptation can contribute to reproductive isolation and coexistence between closely related species, yet we know little about how small-scale continuous edaphic gradients contribute to this phenomenon. We investigated edaphic adaptation between two cryptic species of California wildflower, Lasthenia californica and L. gracilis (Asteraceae), which grow in c...

H variability in UK rainfall

Species selection maintains self-incompatibility.

Identifying traits that affect rates of speciation and extinction and, hence, explain differences in species diversity among clades is a major goal of evolutionary biology. Detecting such traits is especially difficult when they undergo frequent transitions between states. Self-incompatibility, the ability of hermaphrodites to enforce outcrossing, is frequently lost in flowering plants, enablin...

Ecological Impacts of intra-seasonal rainfall variability

Introduction Conclusions References

Competitive intransitivity promotes species coexistence.

Using a spatially explicit cellular automaton model with local competition, we investigate the potential for varied levels of competitive intransitivity (i.e., nonhierarchical competition) to promote species coexistence. As predicted, on average, increased levels of intransitivity result in more sustained coexistence within simulated communities, although the outcome of competition also becomes...