Comparing process-based and constraint-based approaches for modeling macroecological patterns

Ecological patterns arise from the interplay of many different processes, and yet the emergence of consistent phenomena across a diverse range of ecological systems suggests that many patterns may in part be determined by statistical or numerical constraints. Differentiating the extent to which patterns in a given system are determined statistically, and where it requires explicit ecological processes, has been difficult. We tackled this challenge by directly comparing models from a constraint-based theory, the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology (METE) and models from a process-based theory, the size-structured neutral theory (SSNT). Models from both theories were capable of characterizing the distribution of individuals among species and the distribution of body size among individuals across 76 forest communities. However, the SSNT models consistently yielded higher overall likelihood, as well as more realistic characterizations of the relationship between species abundance and average ...生态模式源于多种不同过程的相互作用，而在多样的生态系统中均出现的一致现象则表明，诸多生态模式在一定程度上由统计或数值约束所决定。区分特定系统中的生态模式在多大程度上受统计因素支配，又在何处需要借助明确的生态过程来阐释，长期以来都是一项颇具挑战的难题。为此，我们通过直接对比基于约束的理论——最大熵生态学理论（Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology, METE）——与基于过程的理论——体型结构中性理论（size-structured neutral theory, SSNT）——所衍生的模型，攻克了这一挑战。两种理论的模型均能够表征76个森林群落中物种间的个体分布格局，以及群落内个体的体型大小分布特征。然而，体型结构中性理论的模型始终能获得更高的整体似然值，且可更真实地刻画物种多度与平均……之间的关联。