Can a single resource support many consumer species

Gadgil, Sulochana and Gadgil, Madhav (1975) Can a single resource support many consumer species. In: Journal of Genetics, 62 (1). pp. 33-47.

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Abstract

The conclusion that the number of species co-existing within a biological community cannot exceed the number of limiting factors is not valid if we assume that (i) the relative efficiency of two competing species in utilizing a resource is not independent of the resource density, but one species may be more efficient at a lower density and less efficient at a higher density and (ii) there is a spatial or temporal heterogeneity in the density of the resource. This spatial or temporal heterogeneity does not have to be furnished by factors external to the biological community, but may be generated within the biological community itself as in the case of a vertical gradient of light in a plant community. This possibility of a stable co-existence of more than one species in a community limited by a single resource, even when the resource is being supplied uniformly in space and time, is formally demonstrated.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Genetics
Publisher:	Indian Academy of Sciences
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Theoretical Studies (Ceased to exist at the end of 2003)
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2010 06:55
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:48
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/24011

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