Table 1 and S1: List of species found in study

This file is includes the complete list of species found during this study. In this study we analyze a system of diffuse competition in an ant community in a tropical coffee landscape in southern Mexico. The community is constrained by space in that the dominant competitor (<i>Azteca seriaceasur</i>) has a limited range of influence within which it excludes most other species, but outside that range, the other species may all persist. We use a simple dynamic model in which variable A, the dominant competitor, competes strongly with variable S, the collection of all other species in the system, the latter acting as a single strong competitor in the context of diffuse competition. Two qualitatively distinct outcomes are expected depending on the strength of competition: 1) a simple monotonic increase in species richness as the distance from the Azteca nest increases or 2) a range of distance from the nest in which there is bi-stability (either A dominates or S dominates), bookended by critical transitions. Studying five specific nests in wet and dry seasons over a two-year period, we find evidence for the bi-stability situation. Implications for metacommunity structure are discussed.

本文件收录了本研究中观测到的所有物种的完整名录。本研究针对墨西哥南部热带咖啡种植景观中的蚂蚁群落，开展扩散竞争系统分析。该群落受空间约束：优势竞争者（*Azteca seriaceasur*）的影响范围有限，在此范围内它可排除绝大多数其他物种；而在该范围之外，其余物种均可稳定存续。我们采用了简洁的动态模型：其中变量A代表优势竞争者，与变量S（即系统内所有其他物种的集合）存在强烈竞争；在扩散竞争的语境下，后者整体可视为单一强势竞争者。根据竞争强度的不同，可得到两种性质迥异的结果：1）物种丰富度随与*Azteca seriaceasur*蚁巢距离的增加呈单调递增趋势；2）存在一段蚁巢距离区间，呈现双稳态特征（要么A占据主导地位，要么S占据主导地位），该区间由临界转变点前后衔接。我们在两年周期内的湿季与干季对5个特定蚁巢开展调研，结果为双稳态情形提供了实证支撑。本研究最后讨论了其对集合群落（metacommunity）结构的研究启示。