MULTIPLE BASINS OF ATTRACTION IN A TROPICAL FOREST: EVIDENCE FOR NONEQUILIBRIUM COMMUNITY STRUCTURE

We analyzed a data set accumulated over a 12-year period subsequent to the catastrophic disturbance of a rain forest by a hurricane. We analyzed the data to determine whether observed trajectories correspond to expectations from an equilibrium or nonequilibrium model of community structure. The equilibrium case, implying a single basin of attraction, suggests that trajectories should become ever more similar over time. The nonequilibrium case, implying multiple basins of attraction, suggests the opposite. The data from this particular forest, located on the eastern seaboard of Nicaragua, strongly support the multiple basin hypothesis, and thus the nonequilibrium model.