Biology subjects

McMeans, B.

Publications and source records attributed to McMeans, B..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Activity Patterns Structure Food Web Interactions Through Time

Many mobile animals move to locate and consume resources, making energy gain and growth dependent on activity. Yet the role of activity in shaping predator-prey interactions in food webs has not been broadly considered. Here, we synthesize empirical examples to examine how three activity traits (mean, variance, and timing) vary among taxa (fish, mammals, birds) and between predators and prey across temporal scales. We then use predator-prey models to explore how these diverse activity patterns influence stability. Motivated by emerging activity patterns, our theory shows that fluctuating activity rates can drive predator-prey interaction strengths with major consequences for stability. Future research is needed on activity trait patterning, links between activity and attack rates, and the consequences of activity for predator-prey interactions to whole food webs. This is especially critical as human-driven changes to abiotic cues increasingly alter animal activity rates and may rewire food webs.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Transient dynamics and counterintuitive competitive performance in periodic environments

Despite the rapid pace of global change altering temporal environmental patterning, we lack a general understanding of how periodic environments structure ecological communities. In fluctuating environments, nonlinear dynamics associated with temporal trade-offs between competing species can create the potential for both niche differentiation (coexistence) and seemingly unexpected outcomes (exclusion) that deviate from deterministic coexistence theory. Yet, the mechanisms behind these outcomes are not fully understood. Here, we show that periodic fluctuations between times of high and low growth (e.g., seasons), and adaptive temporal trade-offs within and between species, can drive counterintuitive over- and under-performance of competing species. Most notable is the counterintuitive outcome of seasonally-mediated competitive exclusion that would not occur in either season alone, but is rather the direct result of environmental variability itself. We find that seasonal trade-offs in species growth rates, seasonal differences in competition strength, and functional similarity between competing species have the potential to drive nonlinear responses in coexistence to changing seasonality under global change. These biological conditions collectively influence our models transient dynamics, further explaining the mechanisms behind counterintuitive outcomes and highlighting the importance of non-equilibrium theory for global change ecology. Importantly, the seasonal patterns and species trade-offs that magnify these results are biologically realistic, therefore providing important insight into the implications for the maintenance of biodiversity under global change.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Winter in water: Differential responses and the maintenance of biodiversity

The ecological consequences of winter in freshwater systems are an understudied but rapidly emerging research area. Here, we argue that winter periods of reduced temperature and light (and potentially oxygen and resources) could play an underappreciated role in mediating the coexistence of species. This may be especially true for temperate and subarctic lakes, where seasonal changes in the thermal environment might fundamentally structure species interactions. With climate change already shortening ice-covered periods on temperate and polar lakes, consideration of how winter conditions shape biotic interactions is urgently needed. Using freshwater fishes in northern temperate lakes as a case study, we demonstrate how physiological trait differences (e.g., thermal preference, light sensitivity) drive differential behavioral responses to winter among competing species. Specifically, some species have a higher capacity for winter activity than others. Existing and new theory is presented to argue that such differential responses to winter can promote species coexistence. Importantly, if winter is a driver of niche differences that weaken competition between relative to within species, then shrinking winter periods could threaten coexistence by tipping the scales in favor of certain sets of species over others.

ecology↗