Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Competition and Coexistence

  • Book
  • © 2002

Overview

Authors:
  1. Ulrich Sommer

    1. Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Boris Worm

    1. Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany
      Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Features a new, spatial view of competition and coexistence
  • Provides an overview of regulatory mechanisms that sustain biodiversity in ecosystems
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies (ECOLSTUD, volume 161)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XI
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • U. Sommer, B. Worm
    Pages 1-5

  3. Competition in Well-Mixed Habitats: From Competitive Exclusion to Competitive Chaos

    • J. Passarge, J. Huisman
    Pages 7-42

  4. Spatial Models of Competition

    • C. A. Klausmeier, D. Tilman
    Pages 43-78

  5. Competition and Coexistence in Plankton Communities

    • U. Sommer
    Pages 79-108

  6. Competition and Coexistence of Mobile Animals

    • M. Ritchie
    Pages 109-131

  7. Competition, Coexistence and Diversity on Rocky Shores

    • B. Worm, R. Karez
    Pages 133-163

  8. Competition and Coexistence in Terrestrial Plants

    • J. Fargione, D. Tilman
    Pages 165-206

  9. Synthesis: Back to Santa Rosalia, or No Wonder There Are So Many Species

    • U. Sommer, B. Worm
    Pages 207-218

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 219-221
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

The question "Why are there so many species?" has puzzled ecologist for a long time. Initially, an academic question, it has gained practical interest by the recent awareness of global biodiversity loss. Species diversity in local ecosystems has always been discussed in relation to the problem of competi­ tive exclusion and the apparent contradiction between the competitive exclu­ sion principle and the overwhelming richness of species found in nature. Competition as a mechanism structuring ecological communities has never been uncontroversial. Not only its importance but even its existence have been debated. On the one extreme, some ecologists have taken competi­ tion for granted and have used it as an explanation by default if the distribu­ tion of a species was more restricted than could be explained by physiology and dispersal history. For decades, competition has been a core mechanism behind popular concepts like ecological niche, succession, limiting similarity, and character displacement, among others. For some, competition has almost become synonymous with the Darwinian "struggle for existence", although simple plausibility should tell us that organisms have to struggle against much more than competitors, e.g. predators, parasites, pathogens, and envi­ ronmental harshness.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"... I found this book easy to read, with a concise and consistent style across chapters. Figures were clearly presented and effectively described. I would recommend this as a good introduction to current models and empirical studies of the role of competition in structuring communities for those not already familiar with the topic." (Ethology)
"Plant ecologists working on traditional problems of vegetation composition and tradeoffs among component species for limiting resources will derive a great deal from the book. It comprises a convenient and approachable primer on the theory of competition and coexistence and its real-life applications, and it would make for an excellent graduate-level seminar." (Plant Systematics and Evolution)

"This volume is an attempt to review and synthesize recent research on competition-coexistence relationships … . Overall, I found this book easy to read, with a concise and consistent style across chapters. Figures were clearly presented and effectively described. I would recommend this as a good introduction to current models and empirical studies of the role of competition in structuring communities for those not already familiar with this topic." (Tad Theimer, Ethology, Issue 12, 2003)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Ulrich Sommer, Boris Worm

  • Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

    Boris Worm

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation