INTERSPECIFIC ABUNDANCE-OCCUPANCY RELATIONSHIPS AND THE EFFECTS OF DISTURBANCE - A TEST USING MICROCOSMS

The effects of disturbance on interspecific relationships between abun dance and occupancy are tested using the results of a factorial experi ment carried out with microcosm communities of protists. A positive re lationship was documented whether marked disturbance was present or no t; the pattern was neither a product of disturbance, nor was it destro yed by disturbance. Coefficients of determination, and the slopes and intercepts of abundance-occupancy relationships did not appear to chan ge systematically with treatment. This robustness of the relationship may reflect the tendency for species to maintain approximately the sam e relative abundances and levels of occupancy in a broad range of circ umstances.