Toward a new paradigm of ecology: The importance of ontogenetic growth and niche shift
Takefumi Nakazawa, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Community ecology is traditionally species-based and assumes that species comprise identical individuals. However, intraspecific variation is ubiquitous in nature because of ontogenetic growth of multicellular organisms. Here, first I overview recent research on how ontogenetic niche shift can affect community dynamics. To understand such individual interaction-mediated food webs, researchers have recently focused on body size as the most fundamental biological aspect and assessed a parameter called the predator–prey mass ratio (PPMR). Next, I review the conceptual development of the PPMR and suggest four major concerns regarding its measurement: (i) PPMR should be measured at the individual level because species-averaged values distort actual feeding relationships, (ii) individual-level PPMR data on gape-unconstrained predators (e.g., terrestrial carnivores) are limited because previous studies have targeted gape-limited fish predators, (iii) predators’ prey size selectivity (preferred PPRM) is conceptually different from dietary prey size (realized PPMR) and should be distinguished by incorporating environmental prey abundance information, and (iv) determinants of preferred PPMR, rather than those of realized PPMR, should be identified to describe size-dependent predation. Future studies are encouraged to explore not only predation but also other interaction types (e.g., competition, mutualism, and herbivory) at the individual level. However, this change is not likely to occur while ecological communities are still considered to be interspecific interaction networks. To resolve this situation and more comprehensively understand biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, I suggest that community ecology requires a paradigm shift in the unit of interaction from species to individuals, similar to evolutionary biology, which revolutionized the unit of selection, because interactions occur between individuals.