Connell and Slatyer's models of succession in the biodiversity era

Understanding how species interactions drive succession is a key issue in ecology. In this study we show the utility of combining the concepts and methodologies developed within the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research program with J. H. Connell and R. O. Slatyer’s classic framework to understand succession in assemblages where multiple interactions between early and late colonists may include both inhibitory and facilitative effects. We assessed the net effect of multiple species interactions on successional changes by manipulating the richness, composition, and abundance of early colonists in a low-shore assemblage of algae and invertebrates of the northwestern Mediterranean. Results revealed how concomitant changes in species richness and abundance can strongly alter the net effect of inhibitory vs. facilitative interactions on succession. Increasing richness of early colonists inhibited succession, but only under high levels of initial abundance, probably reflecting the formation of a highly intricate matrix that prevented further colonization. In contrast, increasing initial abundance of early colonists tended to facilitate succession under low richness. Thus, changes in abundance of early colonists mediated the effects of richness on succession.