Effects of Vertical Spatial Overlap on Phytoplankton Diversity under Experimentally Altered Lake Stratification Regimes.

In phytoplankton communities, competitive exclusion might occur when functionally similar species are impeded from regulating their positions along light and nutrient gradients to reduce niche overlap. Greater spatial overlap () between species due to water column mixing could thus promote competitive exclusion, reducing community taxonomic diversity. However, greater could also promote coexistence of functionally different taxa.