%0 Journal Article
%T Ecological Equivalence: A Realistic Assumption for Niche Theory as a Testable Alternative to Neutral Theory
%A C. Patrick Doncaster
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0007460
%X Hubbell's 2001 neutral theory unifies biodiversity and biogeography by modelling steady-state distributions of species richness and abundances across spatio-temporal scales. Accurate predictions have issued from its core premise that all species have identical vital rates. Yet no ecologist believes that species are identical in reality. Here I explain this paradox in terms of the ecological equivalence that species must achieve at their coexistence equilibrium, defined by zero net fitness for all regardless of intrinsic differences between them. I show that the distinction of realised from intrinsic vital rates is crucial to evaluating community resilience.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007460