174
P.S. Ashton and J.v. LaFrankie
The commonest, and some at least of the rarest species appear to be remarkably
predictable in their relative and absolute abundance at community level (Ashton
1998b). But there are many also which are not. It is also curious that examples
examined of the many closely related co-occurring species in diverse tropical forest
appear to have distinct albeit overlapping life history traits, consistent with competitive coexistence (see, e.g., Davies et al. 1998). Such distinct and rather narrow
characteristics do not of course, confirm niche specificity. On the other hand, would
not survival be increased under conditions dominated by the drift model if species
'maintain their options' through retention of broad and complementary ecological
amplitudes? Only simulation modeling tested by long-term monitoring of individuals and populations of putative competitors can resolve this question.
Acknowledgments
The authors gained from the analytical skills of Matthew Potts, Harvard University. We are particularly grateful for the rather complete data generated by S.
Bunyavejchewin, R. Condit, C.V.S. Gunatilleke, N. Manokaran, R. Sukumar, and
S. Tan.
References
Appanah S (1985) General flowering in the climax rain forest of South East Asia. J Trop
Ecoll:225-240
Ashton PS (1964) Ecological studies in the mixed dipterocarp forests of Brunei State. Oxford Forestry Memoirs 25. 197 pp
Ashton PS (1977) A contribution of rain forest research to evolutionary theory. Ann Missouri Bot Gard 64:694-705
Ashton PS (1984) Biosystematics of tropical forest plants: a problem of rare species. In:
Grant WF (Ed) Plant biosystematics. Academic Press, Toronto, pp 497-518
Ashton PS (1989) Chapter 11: Dipterocarp reproductive biology. In: Leith H, Werger MJA
(Eds) Tropical forest ecosystems: biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems
of the World Series, 14B. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 219-240.
Ashton PS (1993) The community ecology of Asian rain forests, in relation to catastrophic
events. J Biosci 18: 501-514.
Ashton PS (1998a) A global network of plots for understanding tree species diversity in
tropical forests. In: Dallmeier F, Comisky JA (Eds) Proceedings of the international
symposium on measuring and monitoring forest biological diversity: the international
network of biodiversity plots. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution- Man and the
Biosphere Program, Paris, UNESCO and Parthenon Press, May 1995
Ashton PS (1998b) Chapter 18: Niche specificity among tropical trees: a question of scales.
In: Newbery DM, Brown N, Prins HH (Eds) Dynamics of tropical communities. BES
Symposium, Vol No. 37. Blackwell Scientific Publ, Oxford, pp 491-514
P.S. Ashton and J.v. LaFrankie
The commonest, and some at least of the rarest species appear to be remarkably
predictable in their relative and absolute abundance at community level (Ashton
1998b). But there are many also which are not. It is also curious that examples
examined of the many closely related co-occurring species in diverse tropical forest
appear to have distinct albeit overlapping life history traits, consistent with competitive coexistence (see, e.g., Davies et al. 1998). Such distinct and rather narrow
characteristics do not of course, confirm niche specificity. On the other hand, would
not survival be increased under conditions dominated by the drift model if species
'maintain their options' through retention of broad and complementary ecological
amplitudes? Only simulation modeling tested by long-term monitoring of individuals and populations of putative competitors can resolve this question.
Acknowledgments
The authors gained from the analytical skills of Matthew Potts, Harvard University. We are particularly grateful for the rather complete data generated by S.
Bunyavejchewin, R. Condit, C.V.S. Gunatilleke, N. Manokaran, R. Sukumar, and
S. Tan.
References
Appanah S (1985) General flowering in the climax rain forest of South East Asia. J Trop
Ecoll:225-240
Ashton PS (1964) Ecological studies in the mixed dipterocarp forests of Brunei State. Oxford Forestry Memoirs 25. 197 pp
Ashton PS (1977) A contribution of rain forest research to evolutionary theory. Ann Missouri Bot Gard 64:694-705
Ashton PS (1984) Biosystematics of tropical forest plants: a problem of rare species. In:
Grant WF (Ed) Plant biosystematics. Academic Press, Toronto, pp 497-518
Ashton PS (1989) Chapter 11: Dipterocarp reproductive biology. In: Leith H, Werger MJA
(Eds) Tropical forest ecosystems: biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems
of the World Series, 14B. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 219-240.
Ashton PS (1993) The community ecology of Asian rain forests, in relation to catastrophic
events. J Biosci 18: 501-514.
Ashton PS (1998a) A global network of plots for understanding tree species diversity in
tropical forests. In: Dallmeier F, Comisky JA (Eds) Proceedings of the international
symposium on measuring and monitoring forest biological diversity: the international
network of biodiversity plots. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution- Man and the
Biosphere Program, Paris, UNESCO and Parthenon Press, May 1995
Ashton PS (1998b) Chapter 18: Niche specificity among tropical trees: a question of scales.
In: Newbery DM, Brown N, Prins HH (Eds) Dynamics of tropical communities. BES
Symposium, Vol No. 37. Blackwell Scientific Publ, Oxford, pp 491-514