Why do diverse ecosystems thrive when classic theory predicts competitive exclusion should eliminate all but the “fittest” species? We’re interested in this fundamental paradox, particularly in seasonal environments where nutrients cycle through boom-bust dynamics.

Through mathematical models of seasonal resource competition, we’ve noticed an intriguing pattern: species that rapidly consume nutrients early in a cycle can dominate ecosystems, even when other species are more efficient overall. What does this “early-bird effect“ tell us about why different ecosystems show such contradictory relationships between nutrients and biodiversity?

These questions connect ecological theory to pressing environmental challenges. As ecosystems face fertilizer runoff, warming temperatures, and other perturbations, understanding when and why diversity persists or collapses becomes increasingly urgent. How can we use the principles we observe in simple models to help predict responses in complex natural systems? We attempt to tackle these challenges.

Our and related work

• The early-bird effect wikipedia page
• Assembly of stool-derived bacterial communities follows “early-bird” resource utilization dynamics
• Diversity loss in microbial ecosystems undergoing gradual environmental changes
• Grow now, pay later: When should a bacterium go into debt?
• Enzyme regulation and mutation in a model serial-dilution ecosystem
• Nutrient levels and trade-offs control diversity in a model seasonal ecosystem