A8

Niche overlap and fitness equality are important predictors for community response, resilience and reversibility as they determine the outcome of competition (Chesson 2000). Within this project, we will test the overall hypothesis that the relative roles of niche overlap and fitness equality changes with shifts in the environment. Specifically, we will focus on the spring bloom of the phytoplankton community as we predict a strong shift in niche overlap and fitness equality during this time. Competition is predicted to be the dominant driver before the phytoplankton maximum, while consumption (predation or infection by viruses) is predicted to be the dominant driver when the spring bloom collapses (cf. PEG model; Sommer et al. 2012).

_{Chesson, P. (2000). Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 31, 343–366.
Sommer. U. et al. (2012). Beyond the Plankton Ecology Group (PEG) Model: Mechanisms Driving Plankton Succession. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 3:429–48.}