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Social information drives ecological outcomes among competing species

M.A. Gil, M.L. Baskett, S.J. Schreiber
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/604595
M.A. Gil
1Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
2Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz 95060 and Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California 95060
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  • For correspondence: mikegil@sciall.org
M.L. Baskett
1Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
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S.J. Schreiber
3Department of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
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Abstract

Through its behavior, an organism intentionally or unintentionally produces information. Use of this ‘social information’ by surrounding conspecifics or heterospecifics is a ubiquitous phenomenon that can drive strong correlations in fitness-associated behaviors, such as predator avoidance, enhancing survival within and among competing species. By eliciting indirect positive interactions between competing individuals or species, social information might alter overall competitive outcomes. To test this potential, we present new theory that quantifies the effect of social information, modeled as predator avoidance signals/cues, on the outcomes from intraspecific and interspecific competition. Our analytical and numerical results reveal that social information can rescue populations from extinction and can shift the long-term outcome of competitive interactions from mutual exclusion to coexistence, or vice versa, depending on the relative strengths of intraspecific and interspecific social information and competition. Our findings highlight the importance of social information in determining ecological outcomes.

Footnotes

  • ↵† M.L.B.: mlbaskett{at}ucdavis.edu; S.J.S.: sschreiber{at}ucdavis.edu

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted June 28, 2019.
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Social information drives ecological outcomes among competing species
M.A. Gil, M.L. Baskett, S.J. Schreiber
bioRxiv 604595; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/604595
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Social information drives ecological outcomes among competing species
M.A. Gil, M.L. Baskett, S.J. Schreiber
bioRxiv 604595; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/604595

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