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Draft:Early-bird effect

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  • Comment: I found this topic to be very interesting. I started making edits to try to improve the article but I was unable to find any secondary sources about the topic. All of the current references describe original research. WP:GNG requires secondary sources, and although we can use primary sources, WP:PRIMARY explicitly instructs Do not base an entire article on primary sources. If you can add some secondary sources I would be very pleased to see this accepted. Mgp28 (talk) 11:40, 26 July 2024 (UTC)

The early-bird effect is the advantage a species gains from rapidly using nutrients to establish a large initial population.[1] This initial population advantage can allow a population to persist when nutrients become scarce, even if competitor species are more efficient at extracting scarce nutrients.[2] The effect can be seen when resources vary seasonally,[1] and in laboratory conditions when serial dilutions are taken of microbe cultures.[3]

Description

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The early-bird effect arises in ecosystems where there is a time gap between nutrient addition and species removal. During this gap, species can grow and interact in complex ways. Fast-growing species that deplete their preferred resource early can, despite being less efficient per capita than their competitors, still dominate due to their increased numbers. This dynamic suggests extra benefits to growing fast and early, even at the cost of a penalty later. The early-bird effect may be particularly relevant for understanding changes in gut microbiota.[4]

Key Characteristics

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  • Repeated Nutrient Addition and Removal: The effect is prominent in ecosystems with cycles of nutrient addition and species removal.
  • Time Gap Dynamics: The critical period between nutrient addition and species removal allows for significant growth and interaction among species.
  • Growth and Competitive Advantage: Fast-growing species that consume their preferred resource quickly gain a population advantage. This advantage persists even if these species become less efficient per capita compared to their competitors.
  • Dynamic Nature of the Effect: Unlike a founder effect, which is dependent on initial conditions, the Early-Bird Effect is dynamic and continually influenced by the ongoing conditions in the ecosystem.

Research Findings

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Studies such as those by Erez et al. (2020), Lopez et al. (2023), and others have explored various aspects of this effect, including its impact on community diversity, species dominance, and the dynamics of microbial communities in response to environmental changes.

Implications

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The Early-Bird Effect has significant implications for understanding ecosystem dynamics, species diversity,[5] and survival strategies in various environments. It highlights the importance of growth timing and resource utilization efficiency in competitive ecosystems.

Variations and Extensions

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  • Single-Nutrient Early-Bird Effect: A variation observed in single-nutrient competition.[3]
  • Influence of Environmental Factors: Factors like nutrient amount and the balance between different nutrients play a crucial role in the manifestation of the Early-Bird Effect.

References

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  1. ^ a b Erez A, Lopez JG, Weiner BG, Meir Y, Wingreen NS (September 2020). "Nutrient levels and trade-offs control diversity in a serial dilution ecosystem". eLife. 9. doi:10.7554/eLife.57790. PMC 7486120. PMID 32915132.
  2. ^ Erez A, Lopez JG, Meir Y, Wingreen NS (October 2021). "Enzyme regulation and mutation in a model serial-dilution ecosystem". Phys Rev E. 104 (4–1): 044412. arXiv:2104.09769. Bibcode:2021PhRvE.104d4412E. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.104.044412. PMID 34781576.
  3. ^ a b Lopez JG, Hein Y, Erez A (April 2024). "Grow now, pay later: When should a bacterium go into debt?". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 121 (16): e2314900121. Bibcode:2024PNAS..12114900L. doi:10.1073/pnas.2314900121. PMC 11032434. PMID 38588417.
  4. ^ Aranda-Díaz A, Willis L, Nguyen TH, Ho PY, Vila J, Thomsen T, Chavez T, Yan R, Yu FB, Neff N, Sanchez A, Estrela S, Huang KC (January 2023). "Assembly of gut-derived bacterial communities follows "early-bird" resource utilization dynamics". bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2023.01.13.523996. PMC 9882107. PMID 36711771.
  5. ^ Kim Y, Flinkstrom Z, Candry P, Winkler MH, Myung J (2023). "Resource availability governs polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation and diversity of methanotrophic enrichments from wetlands". Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 11: 1210392. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1210392. PMC 10425282. PMID 37588137.