| Abstract: | Abstract. The effects of competition on individual fitness and species diversity were investigated in a first‐year old field by comparing the natural community to an experimentally‐determined null community. The species pool for the null community was estimated from low‐density plots, and hypothetical sample plots in the null community were constructed by random sampling from the species pool. Individual plants were larger in low‐density plots than control plots, indicating that competition reduced individual fitness. Competition appeared to reduce diversity in half the plots (i.e. species richness and diversity were lower than in hypothetical null community plots with the same number of individuals), but did not affect diversity in the other plots. However, the reduction in diversity could be explained as an artifact caused by spatial aggregation in control plots. The magnitude of the effects of competition on diversity did not change with plot density, and no species consistently increased or decreased in relative abundance as plot density increased. We conclude that competition had no effect on diversity in this community, despite the strong effect on individual growth. |
