Sa. Frank et P. Amarasekare, Increasing resource specialization among competitors shifts control of diversity from local to spatial processes, ECOL LETT, 1(1), 1998, pp. 3-5
We argue that an increase in the number of specialized consumers can shift
the control of ecological dynamics from local to spatial processes. When th
ere are only a few specialized types, local dynamics maintains most types w
ithin each patch. As the number of types increases, the probability of loca
l extinction rises. Subsequent colonizations perturb local dynamics, settin
g off another round of extinctions and the potential for later recolonizati
on. Global processes of colonization and extinction reduce local diversity
and increase differentiation among patches. We draw an analogy between the
specificity of host-parasite genetics and the specificity of consumer-resou
rce pairs.