Coexistence of tropical tree species

Abstract

For decades, ecologists have struggled to explain how so many tropical tree species can coexist. Kelly and Bowler¹ propose that differences in recruitment fluctuation and competitive abilities among closely related tree species could promote coexistence, and data from a tropical deciduous forest in western Mexico seem to confirm their predictions. We argue, however, that the tests of their model's predictions make fundamentally flawed assumptions about both size–age relationships in trees and the factors that influence population size structures. As such, their results are potentially misleading and lack the necessary rigour to “reject all other theories of coexistence”.