Competition Across Three Eco-Evolutionary Scales

Competition is a fundamental ecological interaction, accounting for the origination, distribution, and extinction of species. It occurs at the smallest scales yet can also drive larger scale phenomena. It is most often studied at the local scale, either between individuals within a population or between populations.This focus on smaller scale competition can bias the perception of how competition operates at even higher scales. In my dissertation, I analyze competitive dynamics at multiple scales to reveal the unique processes that govern each scale. At the smaller scales, I analyze how individual competitive interactions with regard to resource use can affect population structure. At moderate scales, I analyze how the diversity of competing populations can affect their evolutionary dynamics. At larger scales, I show how the fundamental adaptations of clades competing over the same resource can lead to mutual suppression of diversity and speciation process. Through this, I hope to expose the unique dynamical process of competition at multiple eco-evolutionary scales.