Temporal changes in species composition affect a ubiquitous species views of patch quality

Metacommunity theory, particularly the patch dynamics archetype, suggests that an organism`s perspective of patch quality can depend solely on the local competitive environment. Across landscapes, however, shifts in species composition often co-occur with shifts in habitat, making it difficult to disentangle the role of competitors and environment on assessments of patch quality. Using 26 years of rodent community time-series data, we show that perception of patch quality by a small, ubiquitous granivore (Chaetodipus penicillatus) shifted with both spatial and temporal changes in species composition. In the mid-1990s, C. baileyi, a novel competitor, colonized and the study site. C. penicillatus patch preference shifted with increasing abundance of C. baileyi, including corresponding changes in estimated survival, probability of movement between patches, and the arrival of new individuals in patches. Changes in energy use on patches due to the establishment of C. baileyi point to a potential mechanism for the differences in patch quality perceived by C. penicillatus. These results demonstrate that experimental time-series data can be used to examine how changes in species composition and, specifically, changes in the competitive landscape, can affect perception of patch quality and patch preference.