Rare species advantage in Antarctic Lakes

TL;DR

This study investigates how rare microbial species maintain diversity in Antarctic lakes, revealing persistent diversity and negative frequency dependence over a decade, suggesting rare species advantage in natural communities.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of rare species advantage and negative frequency dependence in Antarctic lake microbial communities over 11 years.

Findings

Persistent diversity observed in microbial communities.

Negative frequency dependence detected across species.

Evidence of rare species advantage in natural settings.

Abstract

The maintenance of diversity in complex ecological communities despite unpredictable dynamics and competitive exclusion is thought to require continual influx of new species or competitive advantages that accrue as species become rare. We examine isolated planktonic microbial communities under permanent ice cover in Antarctic lakes, recording prokaryotic abundance across 9 communities, 11 years, 30~m of depth, and thousands of species in the McMurdo LTER. We quantify rare species advantage by modeling community dynamics under frequency-dependent selection. We find persistent diversity and pervasive negative frequency dependence with limited immigration and turnover. While ecology and evolutionary sciences have long debated whether diversity is maintained selectively, we measure selection over a $10^4$-fold range of abundance in naturally coevolving communities and implicate rare species advantage.