Diversity‐Stability Relationships: Statistical Inevitability or Ecological Consequence?

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 1987 Upper logical interactions, and for previous data (in Tilman Buford Circle, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 1996), the relationship between variance in species abun55108 dances and mean species abundances is such that there is little or no net effect of diversity on stability via statistical Submitted June 16, 1997; Accepted October 7, 1997 averaging. However, interspecific interactions, such as competition, that cause compensatory changes in the abundances of species can stabilize community biomass in these cases.