PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Janne Hülsemann
AU  - Toni Klauschies
AU  - Christian Guill
TI  - Self-organized pattern formation increases functional diversity
AID  - 10.1101/2020.09.27.315754
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.09.27.315754
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/28/2020.09.27.315754.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/28/2020.09.27.315754.full
AB  - Self-organized formation of spatial patterns is known from a variety of different ecosystems, yet little is known how these patterns affect functional diversity of local and regional communities. Here we use a food chain model in which autotroph diversity is described by a continuous distribution of a trait that affects both growth rate and defense against a heterotroph. On a single patch, stabilizing selection always promotes the dominance of a single autotroph species. Two alternative community states, with either defended or undefended species, are possible. In a metacommunity context, dispersal can destabilize these states, and complex spatio-temporal patterns emerge. This creates varying selection pressures on the local autotroph communities, which feed back on the trait dynamics. Local functional diversity increases ten-fold compared to a situation without self-organized pattern formation, thereby maintaining the adaptive potential of communities in an environment threatened by fragmentation and global change.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.