Quantitative predictions from competition theory with incomplete information on model parameters tested against experiments across diverse taxa

TL;DR

This paper introduces an analytical approximation method for predicting ecological community metrics based on competition theory, using limited parameters, and validates it across diverse taxa with high accuracy.

Contribution

The study presents a novel analytical approximation that accurately predicts ecological community properties using minimal model parameters, tested across various taxa.

Findings

Accurately predicts species richness and community metrics.

Validates the approximation across diverse taxa including algae, plants, and protozoa.

Requires only a subset of model parameters for predictions.

Abstract

We derive an analytical approximation for making quantitative predictions for ecological communities as a function of the mean intensity of the inter-specific competition and the species richness. This method, with only a fraction of the model parameters (carrying capacities and competition coefficients), is able to predict accurately empirical measurements covering a wide variety of taxa (algae, plants, protozoa).