Plankton post-paradox: reply to comment on “The paradox of the ‘paradox of the plankton’” by Record et al.

Abstract

Record, N. R., Pershing, A. J. and Maps, F. 2014. Plankton post-paradox: reply to comment on “The paradox of the ‘paradox of the plankton’” by Record et al. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 296–298. Classical theoretical ecology has largely focused on the coexistence of populations at the species level, particularly since the coining of the “paradox of the plankton”. The known mechanisms for coexistence, both mathematically and in nature, are myriad and diverse. Building on a dialogue in this journal (Cropp, R., and Norbury, J. 2014. Comment on “The paradox of the ‘paradox of the plankton’” by Record et al. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 293 – 295; Record, N. R., Pershing, A. J., and Maps, F. 2014. The paradox of ‘the paradox of the plankton’. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 236–240.), we outline a perspective whereby approaching the problem from a different organizational level—namely the community level—can offer valuable simplifications and insights. We expand on a prototype model that demonstrates the potential of this approach.