Quantifying the role of colonization history and biotic interactions in shaping communities –a community transplant approach

The role of colonization history and subsequent biotic interactions in determining the species composition in communities has long been the subject of debate in ecology. While one narrative has emphasized deterministic assembly rules, another has emphasized historical contingency. One problem lies in approach: community studies are typically either manipulative but somewhat unnatural, or observational but lacking manipulation. Furthermore, while most ecologists now recognize that both historical and biotic factors shape communities, too few studies have moved beyond qualitative descriptions of their roles. Here we use a manipulative approach that leverages natural variation to provide quantitative estimates of the relative contributions of colonization history and the subsequent biotic interactions. 384 communities were developed on artificial substrata in a homogeneous environment before undergoing reciprocal transplantation. We then compare community structure before and after transpl...