Species coexistence in ecological communities is a central feature of biodiversity. Different concepts, i.e., contemporary niche theory, modern coexistence theory, and the unified neutral theory, have identified many building blocks of such ecological assemblies. However, other factors, such as phenotypic plasticity and stochastic inter-individual variation, have received little attention, in particular in animals. For example, how resource polyphenisms resulting in predator–prey interactions affect coexistence is currently unknown. Here, we present an integrative theoretical–experimental framework using the nematode plasticity model Pristionchus pacificus with its well-studied mouth-form dimorphism resulting in cannibalism. We develop an individual-based model that relies upon synthetic data based on our empirical measurements of fecundity and polyphenism to preserve demographic heterogeneity. We demonstrate how the interplay between plasticity and individual stochasticity result in all-or-nothing outcomes at the local level. Coexistence is made possible when spatial structure is introduced.

中文翻译：

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可塑性和随机性在共存中的作用

生态群落中的物种共存是生物多样性的核心特征。不同的概念，即当代生态位理论、现代共存理论和统一中立理论，已经确定了这种生态组合的许多组成部分。然而，其他因素，例如表型可塑性和随机个体间变异，却很少受到关注，特别是在动物中。例如，导致捕食者与被捕食者相互作用的资源多态性如何影响共存目前尚不清楚。在这里，我们提出了一个综合的理论-实验框架，使用线虫可塑性模型Pristionchus pacificus及其经过充分研究的嘴形二态性导致同类相食。我们开发了一个基于个体的模型，该模型依赖于基于我们对生育力和多型性的经验测量的合成数据，以保持人口异质性。我们展示了可塑性和个体随机性之间的相互作用如何在局部层面导致全有或全无的结果。当引入空间结构时，共存成为可能。