We have demonstrated that information on relative species abundance (RSA) cannot, without additional information, be used to discriminate among biological explanations for different RSA patterns¹; but Chave et al. claim that our conclusion is premature². Here we show that their analysis was not carried out in a consistent manner and that density dependence gives an equally valid mechanistic explanation for RSA patterns in addition to, and independently of, dispersal limitation.

1. Department of Physics, 104 Davey Laboratory, Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
2. Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
   Email: jayanth@phys.psu.edu
3. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1, Canada
4. Department of Plant Biology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
5. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 2072, Balboa, Panama
6. Dipartimento di Fisica 'G. Galilei', Universitá di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy

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