Trade-offs and Biological Diversity: Integrative Answers to Ecological Questions

Abstract

What determines the abundance and distribution of species? This question is paramount to ecology because it encompasses the interactions of individuals, populations, and species with each other, and with their environments. Ecological approaches and frameworks have successfully addressed this question across diverse species and contexts, and yet the broader rules that underlie these patterns across environments and taxonomic groups remain elusive. This chapter argues that the difficulties in finding broad answers to this question are, in part, because the answers are not strictly ecological, but broadly biological. It provides examples to illustrate the importance of key trade-offs and the integration of diverse fields that promote a more mechanistic understanding of the factors underlying the distributions of species and interactions between them. Finally, the chapter discusses why an integrative approach that focuses on trade-offs will advance our understanding of community ecology and biodiversity.