Resource partitioning amongst five coexisting species of gurnards (Scorpaeniforme: Triglidae): Role of trophic and habitat segregation

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lopez-Lopez ◽  
I. Preciado ◽  
F. Velasco ◽  
I. Olaso ◽  
J.L. Gutiérrez-Zabala
Keyword(s):  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Habitat Segregation ◽  
Coexisting Species

Niche Occupancy and the Relative Role of Micro-Habitat and Diet in Resource Partitioning Among Pond Dwelling Tadpoles

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor H. M. Do Prado ◽  
Mariluce G. Fonseca ◽  
Fernanda V. R. De Almeida ◽  
Orlando Necchi Junior ◽  
Denise De C. Rossa-Feres
Keyword(s):  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Relative Role

scholarly journals Range-wide spatial mapping reveals convergent character displacement of bird song

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1902) ◽  
pp. 20190443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. G. Kirschel ◽  
Nathalie Seddon ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Interspecific Territoriality ◽  
Coexisting Species

A long-held view in evolutionary biology is that character displacement generates divergent phenotypes in closely related coexisting species to avoid the costs of hybridization or ecological competition, whereas an alternative possibility is that signals of dominance or aggression may instead converge to facilitate coexistence among ecological competitors. Although this counterintuitive process—termed convergent agonistic character displacement—is supported by recent theoretical and empirical studies, the extent to which it drives spatial patterns of trait evolution at continental scales remains unclear. By modelling the variation in song structure of two ecologically similar species of Hypocnemis antbird across western Amazonia, we show that their territorial signals converge such that trait similarity peaks in the sympatric zone, where intense interspecific territoriality between these taxa has previously been demonstrated. We also use remote sensing data to show that signal convergence is not explained by environmental gradients and is thus unlikely to evolve by sensory drive (i.e. acoustic adaptation to the sound transmission properties of habitats). Our results suggest that agonistic character displacement driven by interspecific competition can generate spatial patterns opposite to those predicted by classic character displacement theory, and highlight the potential role of social selection in shaping geographical variation in signal phenotypes of ecological competitors.

Niche overlap and resource partitioning between two intertidal hermit crab species

2017 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermina Alcaraz ◽  
Karla Kruesi
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Competition ◽  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Crab Species ◽  
Gastropod Shell ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Coexisting Species

The gastropod shell influences important aspects of the hermit crab's life; however, the shells are commonly a limited resource. Therefore, different hermit crab species that coexist in intertidal areas are commonly involved in intraspecific and interspecific competition for shells. We assess if differences in shell preference, exploitation ability, or competition by interference can explain the partitioning of shells between the coexisting species Calcinus californiensis and Clibanarius albidigitus. Clibanarius preferred shells of Nerita funiculata among the six gastropod shells tested, while Calcinus did not establish a hierarchy in shell preference. Therefore, the preference for gastropod shell species does not seem to diminish the competition for shells in the wild. Clibanarius identified and attended to chemical cues signalling potential sites of available shells (chemical cues of dead gastropods); Calcinus did not respond to these cues (competition by exploitation). However, Calcinus was more successful in obtaining a new shell by interspecific shell fighting than Clibanarius. Consequently, the use of better quality shells (intact shells) by Calcinus in the wild can be explained by its greater fighting ability compared with Clibanarius. The bias in shell distributions through dominance by shell fighting, more than by exploitation ability, has also been suggested for other hermit crab species of these genera.

scholarly journals Parasite-mediated microhabitat segregation between congeneric hosts

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 20170671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olwyn C. Friesen ◽  
Robert Poulin ◽  
Clément Lagrue
Keyword(s):  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Habitat Segregation ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
Trematode Parasite ◽  
Host Distribution ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Rocky Habitats ◽  
Microhabitat Segregation

Parasite-mediated competition can shape community structure and host distribution. If two species compete for resources, parasites may indirectly change the outcome of competition. We tested the role of a trematode parasite in mediating microhabitat use by congeneric isopods Austridotea annectens and Austridotea lacustris . Although both isopods share resources, they rarely co-occur in the same discrete microhabitats. We set up mesocosms with and without competition and/or parasites to examine the role of parasites in host distribution and habitat segregation. Austridotea annectens showed a clear preference for one microhabitat type regardless of competition or parasitic infection. By contrast, A. lacustris showed little habitat selection in the absence of competition, but favoured sandy habitats in the presence of uninfected A. annectens and rocky habitats when competing with infected A. annectens . Our results suggest that parasites in one species affect the distribution of another species, and mediate competition between these species. We demonstrated the impacts of a parasite on the microhabitat use of its host's competitor. This also represents an example of a super-extended phenotype, where a parasite affects the phenotype of a non-host.

scholarly journals Exploring the morphospace in subterranean spiders

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Dejanaz ◽  
Stefano Mammola ◽  
Marco Isaia
Keyword(s):  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
Multidimensional Space ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Trophic Specialization ◽  
Direct Competition ◽  
Coexisting Species

In light of the reduced diversity and abundance of species, subterranean habitats represent ideal models systems in which to investigate characters displacement in species sharing the same habitat. In order to minimize direct competition, it is expected that sibling species occupying the same subterranean habitat should differentiate their morphological niche. Conversely, geographically vicariant species occupying similar microhabitats should display a convergent morphology. We tested these hypotheses by studying character displacement in different species of Troglohyphantes Joseph, 1881 spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae) in the Western Italian Alps. These spiders underwent a remarkable radiations in subterranean habitats, with numerous stenoendemic elements showing different degrees of subterranean adaptation. For each considered species, we examined 10 to 15 females specimens for a number of morphological characters related to body size, degree of subterranean adaptation (eyes development, flattening of the cephalotorax and leg elongation) and trophic specialization (chelicera and fang length). These traits were combined in a multidimensional space in order to describe the geometry of the n-dimensional Hutchinsonian hypervolume representing the morphological niche of each species. Once the hypervolumes were constructed, pairwise similarity among each species niche was calculated using different overlap indexes. We found that the niche hypervolume of all Troglohyphantes species had a comparable size. However, the distance among niche centroids was lower for species with similar subterranean adaptation and significantly higher in coexisting species. Furthermore, when found in the same cave, species with similar degree of adaptation showed a limited niche overlap. Overall, our results highlight the key role of competition in shaping morphology when competing species are present.

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