Different but equal: the implausible assumption at the heart of neutral theory

• Published in: The Journal of animal ecology Vol. 79; no. 6; pp. 1215 - 1225
• Main Authors: Purves, Drew W., Turnbull, Lindsay A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2010; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal ecology; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; coexistence; Communities; Community Ecology; community structure; Density dependence; Ecological competition; ecological drift; Ecological niches; Ecological succession; Ecosystem; ecosystem function; Fecundity; Forest ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Genetic Fitness; Habitats; interspecific variation; life-history manifold; Longevity; Models, Biological; Niches; null model; Population ecology; Species; Species composition; species diversity; Species richness; Species Specificity; Synecology; temporal variation; Theory; Time Factors; trait variation; Heart; Life history; ecosystem function; Neutral theory; community ecology; Ecology; Coexistence; Biodiversity; life-history manifold; Hypothesis test; null model; Statistical model; Density dependence; Drift; Ecosystem functioning; Circulatory system; ecological drift; Community; trait variation

1. The core assumption of neutral theory is that all individuals in a community have equal fitness regardless of species, and regardless of the species composition of the community. But, real communities consist of species exhibiting large trait differences; hence these differences must be subject t...