Community efficiency: testing MacArthur’s minimisation principle for competitive communities

罗伯特·麦克阿瑟是20世纪最伟大的生态学家之一，他提出的理论对我们对岛屿生物地理、物种共存和竞争的理解产生了深远的影响，但他最有力的理论预测之一--竞争群落随着时间的推移应该变得更有效率--从未得到检验。更好地理解社区效率的动态将为该社区在更广泛的生态系统中所扮演的角色提供深刻的见解，并对该社区的侵入性和稳定性做出强有力的预测。

Robert MacArthur, one of the 20th century’s greatest ecologists, developed theory that had profound impacts on our understanding of island biogeography, species coexistence, and competition, yet one of his most powerful theoretical predictions, that competitive communities should become more efficient over time, has never been tested. A greater understanding of the dynamics of community efficiency will provide profound insights into the role of that community in the broader ecosystem, as well as strong predictions about the invasibility and stability of that community.