An empirical test of the mechanistic underpinnings of interference competition

Interspecific competition is an essential element of the evolution of species and can strongly influence the abundance and distribution of species. Where competition interacts with anthropogenic habitat modification, this natural ecosystem process can become a threatening process. Understanding the mechanisms behind competition in such cases is essential for the formulation of cost-effective management responses for biodiversity conservation. According to the resource availability hypothesis of competition, interference competition limits access to resources by species vulnerable to aggression and wastes energy in evasive responses. Studying competition is notoriously difficult, however, empirical evidence of the resource availability hypothesis is limited, and there are few published experimental studies showing the effect at larger scales. We present the results of a controlled, replicated empirical study of interference competition at a landscape scale. We removed an aggressive, over...种间竞争（Interspecific competition）是物种演化的核心要素，可显著影响物种的丰度与分布格局。当竞争与人为生境改造相互作用时，这一自然生态系统过程可能演变为威胁性过程。在此类情境下，解析竞争背后的作用机制，对于制定兼具成本效益的生物多样性保护管理策略至关重要。根据竞争的资源可利用性假说（resource availability hypothesis），干扰竞争（interference competition）会限制易受攻击的物种获取资源的途径，并使这些物种在逃避行为中浪费能量。然而，对竞争的研究历来颇具挑战性，目前关于资源可利用性假说的实证证据较为匮乏，且已发表的、能在更大尺度上验证该效应的实验研究寥寥无几。本研究呈现了一项在景观尺度（landscape scale）上开展的、受控且重复的干扰竞争实证研究结果。我们移除了一种具有攻击性的、过度[原文未完整提供]