Spatial heterogeneity in light supply is common in nature. Many studies have examined the effects of heterogeneous light supply on growth, morphology, physiology and biomass allocation of clonal plants, but few have tested those effects on intraspecific competition. In a greenhouse experiment, we grew one (no competition) or nine ramets (with intraspecific competition) of a stoloniferous clonal...

-T~~ intensity of intraspecific competition under different levels of light and nitrogen supply was assessed for the temperate zone herb, Chenopodium album. Plants were grown at two densities (one or six plants/pot) in a modified factorial design with three levels each of light and nitrogen availability. This yielded five light/nitrogen treatments which comprised two gradients, one extending fr...

Gap disturbance is assumed to maintain species diversity by creating environmental heterogeneity. However, little is known about how interactions with neighbours, such as competition and facilitation, alter the emerging gap patterns after extreme events. Using a spatially explicit community model we demonstrate that negative interactions, especially intraspecific competition, greatly promote bo...

A fundamental goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand how asymmetric competition influences phenotype expression, yet few studies have quantified the relative effects of intraand interspecific competition on phenotypes. We examined the effects of intraand interspecific larval competition on both discrete and continuous phenotype expression of the facultatively paedomorphic mole salamander...

abstract improving nitrogen use efficiency (nue) is an important objective of the agroecosystem management. a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different competition patterns on nitrogen balance in the wheat agroecosystem. experimental design was split–plot based on randomized complete blocks with four replications. the main plots consisted of different nitrogen rates (i.e. ...

Competition for resources has long been viewed as a key agent of divergent selection. Theory holds that populations facing severe intraspecific competition will tend to use a wider range of resources, possibly even using entirely novel resources that are less in demand. Yet, there have been few experimental tests of these ideas. Using the bacterial virus (bacteriophage) 6 as a model system, we ...

The ecological risk assessment of pesticides is generally based on toxicity data obtained from single-species laboratory experiments and does not take into account ecological interactions such as competition or predation. Intraspecific and interspecific competition are expected to result in additional stress and might increase the sensitivity of aquatic populations to pesticide contamination. T...