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Ants play rock, paper, scissors: implications of intransitivities in competitive ant communities

Ivette Perfecto, University of Michigan
Tuesday March 11, 12-1pm
Zoom Link:听
In Person: 550 Sherbrooke, Room 189

Abstract: The question of species coexistence in ecological communities has intrigued ecologists since before the time of Darwin. Historically, it has been assumed that ecological communities dominated by competitive interactions exhibit transitive competition. This means there is a hierarchy of competitive strength ranging from the most dominant to the most submissive species. However, if this assumption is taken to its extreme, it logically leads to the conclusion that the community would collapse, resulting in the dominance of a single species. Yet, this is not what we observe in nature.

In this talk, I address this question by proposing that intransitive competition鈥攕imilar to the dynamics of the rock-paper-scissors game鈥攑lays a crucial role in promoting coexistence among highly competitive ant communities. We will first present evidence for an intransitive loop involving three dominant species found in coffee farms in Puerto Rico. Afterward, we will analyze two models that could enhance species richness: 1) the relationship between an intransitive loop and a transitive hierarchy, and 2) the link between an intransitive loop and a predator-prey system with higher-order effects. Finally, we will discuss the implications of this intransitivity for pest control.