The Absence of Mitigating Effects of Higher-Order Interactions on Competition in Interspecific Competitive Communities

The Absence of Mitigating Effects of Higher-Order Interactions on Competition in Interspecific Competitive Communities | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 25 August 2025 V1 Latest version Share on The Absence of Mitigating Effects of Higher-Order Interactions on Competition in Interspecific Competitive Communities Authors : zhipeng pan 0000-0003-4512-3939 , Ling Xian , Wei Li , and Fan Liu [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175610941.13234948/v1 211 views 138 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Higher-order interactions (HOIs) involve interactions among three or more species within a community. Although researchers have long recognized the ability of HOIs to reduce direct competition by altering the strength of species interactions, their specific effects on competition outcomes and community structure remain inadequately understood. This study aims to explore the mitigating role of HOIs in interspecific competition within highly competitive plant communities. We focused on a naturally assembled submerged macrophyte community, which is characterized by highly competitive intensity. We collected propagule banks from Poyang Lake to reconstruct natural habitats under controlled conditions, applying three levels of nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment and four water level fluctuation regimes. The propagules were allowed to germinate naturally, leading to the formation of experimental communities. Given the multi-species nature of the community, we applied MacArthur’s consumer–resource model to quantify Niche Differences (ND) and Average Fitness Differences (AFD), which are key determinants of species coexistence. We then assessed the potential presence of higher-order interactions (HOIs) through correlation-based qualitative inference. Our results revealed a striking 87.19% decline in community diversity, as measured by the Shannon–Wiener index. Furthermore, under all control treatments, the proportion of communities exhibiting species coexistence dropped dramatically from 33.3% to only 0.3%, suggesting that HOIs may not be sufficient to mitigate competitive intensity in communities characterized by inherently high competition. Our study challenges the role of HOIs in mitigating interspecific competition in highly competitive communities. This study also found that even non-stressful environmental changes, in conjunction with HOIs, could alter community structure. This underscores a limitation in current coexistence theory and predictive models. These findings underscore the need to incorporate complex, compound, and subtle environmental drivers into future models of community dynamics. Future research should focus on understanding how these multifactorial interactions affect stability and coexistence in real-world ecological systems. Supplementary Material File (ee-0825.docx) Download 41.40 KB File (figure 1o.docx) Download 302.84 KB File (figure 2o.docx) Download 905.86 KB File (figure 3o.docx) Download 377.70 KB File (figure4o.docx) Download 867.23 KB File (figure5o.docx) Download 967.47 KB File (figure6o.docx) Download 1.59 MB File (schedule. 1o.docx) Download 31.96 KB File (supplementary figure 1.docx) Download 648.45 KB File (table1o.docx) Download 10.85 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 25 August 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords community ecology comparative ecological experiment ecosystem ecosystem function freshwater theoretical theory Authors Affiliations zhipeng pan 0000-0003-4512-3939 Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Botanical Garden View all articles by this author Ling Xian Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Botanical Garden View all articles by this author Wei Li Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Botanical Garden View all articles by this author Fan Liu [email protected] Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Botanical Garden View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 211 views 138 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation zhipeng pan, Ling Xian, Wei Li, et al. The Absence of Mitigating Effects of Higher-Order Interactions on Competition in Interspecific Competitive Communities. Authorea . 25 August 2025. 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