Ancient feeding ecology and niche differentiation of Pleistocene mammalian herbivores from Tarija, Bolivia: morphological and isotopic evidence

Paleobiology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce J. MacFadden ◽  
Bruce J. Shockey
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Mammalian Fauna ◽  
Feeding Guild ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores

The exceedingly rich middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the classic Ensenadan Tarija basin in southern Bolivia contains a diversity of medium to large-bodied herbivores consisting of both endemic (†Toxodontia, †Litopterna, Xenarthra) and immigrant (Rodentia, Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla) taxa. In order to characterize feeding ecology and niche differences, a suite of morphological characters was measured for each of 13 species of herbivorous mammals from the Pleistocene of Tarija; these were combined with carbon isotopic results from tooth enamel. (The Xenarthra were excluded from this study because they lack tooth enamel.)Several different bivariate and multivariate combinations of characters can be used to characterize the feeding adaptations, niches, and guild composition of the Tarija mammalian herbivores. During the Pleistocene the browsing guild in the Tarija basin is interpreted to include the tapir (Tapirus tarijensis), extinct llama (Palaeolama weddelli), peccary (Tayassusp.), and deer (Hippocamelussp.). The mixed-feeding guild included two horse species (Hippidion principaleandOnohippidium devillei), litoptern (Macrauchenia patachonica), and capybara (Neochoerus tarijensis). The grazing guild included the numerically dominant horse (Equus insulatus), two lamine species (Lama angustimaxillaand cf.Vicugna, provicugna), notoungulate (Toxodon platensis), and gomphothere proboscidean (Cuvieronius hyodon). The grazing guild has the widest range of body sizes relative to the two other guilds. Closely related sympatric species within the Equidae and Camelidae differentiate their niches from one another using a combination of body size, feeding ecology, and probably local habitat. Most of the paleoecological reconstructions resulting from this combined morphological and isotopic analysis corroborate previous studies based primarily on morphology; there are, however, some notable surprises.

Review of feeding ecology data of Late Pleistocene mammalian herbivores from South America and discussions on niche differentiation

2015 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas de Melo França ◽  
Lidiane de Asevedo ◽  
Mário André Trindade Dantas ◽  
Adriana Bocchiglieri ◽  
Leonardo dos Santos Avilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores

scholarly journals Foraging niche partitioning in sympatric seabird populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Petalas ◽  
Thomas Lazarus ◽  
Raphael A. Lavoie ◽  
Kyle H. Elliott ◽  
Mélanie F. Guigueno
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Competition ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Foraging Range ◽  
Common Murre ◽  
Prey Items

AbstractSympatric species must sufficiently differentiate aspects of their ecological niche to alleviate complete interspecific competition and stably coexist within the same area. Seabirds provide a unique opportunity to understand patterns of niche segregation among coexisting species because they form large multi-species colonies of breeding aggregations with seemingly overlapping diets and foraging areas. Recent biologging tools have revealed that colonial seabirds can differentiate components of their foraging strategies. Specifically, small, diving birds with high wing-loading may have small foraging radii compared with larger or non-diving birds. In the Gulf of St-Lawrence in Canada, we investigated whether and how niche differentiation occurs in four incubating seabird species breeding sympatrically using GPS-tracking and direct field observations of prey items carried by adults to chicks: the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), razorbill (Alca torda), common murre (Uria aalge), and black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Although there was overlap at foraging hotspots, all species differentiated in either diet (prey species, size and number) or foraging range. Whereas puffins and razorbills consumed multiple smaller prey items that were readily available closer to the colony, murres selected larger more diverse prey that were accessible due to their deeper diving capability. Kittiwakes compensated for their surface foraging by having a large foraging range, including foraging largely at a specific distant hotspot. These foraging habitat specialisations may alleviate high interspecific competition allowing for their coexistence, providing insight on multispecies colonial living.

scholarly journals Isotopic analysis of the ecology of herbivores and carnivores from the Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Sierra De Atapuerca, northern Spain

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1142-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. García García ◽  
R.S. Feranec ◽  
J.L. Arsuaga ◽  
J.M. Bermúdez de Castro ◽  
E. Carbonell
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Northern Spain

Mammalian Herbivory, Ecosystem Engineering, and Ecological Cascades in Alaskan Boreal Forests

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Bryant ◽  
Roger W. Ruess
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Human Perceptions ◽  
Boreal Ecosystem ◽  
Leaf Stripping ◽  
Casual Observer

The mammalian herbivores of the taiga forests include members of the largest (moose) and smallest (microtines) vertebrates that inhabit North American terrestrial biomes. Their abundance in a particular area fluctuates dramatically due to seasonal use of particular habitats (moose) and external factors that influence demographic processes (microtines). The low visibility of herbivores to the casual observer might suggest that these animals have minimal influence on the structure and the function of boreal forests. On the contrary, seedling herbivory by voles, leaf stripping by moose, or wholesale logging of mature trees by beaver can profoundly change forest structure and functioning. These plant-herbivore interactions have cascading effects on the physical, chemical, and biological components of the boreal ecosystem that shape the magnitude and direction of many physicochemical and biological processes. These processes, in turn, control the vertical and horizontal interactions of the biological community at large. Herbivores act as ecosystem engineers (Jones et al. 1994) in that they reshape the physical characteristics of the habitat, modify the resource array and population ecology of sympatric species, and influence the flux of energy and nutrients through soils and vegetation. Additionally, many herbivores are central to a variety of human activities. Both consumptive and nonconsumptive use of wildlife represents a pervasive aspect of life in the North. In this chapter, we examine the interactions of mammalian herbivores with their environment, with an emphasis on moose, and attempt to delineate the biotic and abiotic conditions under which herbivores influence the phenotypic expression of vegetation. We also examine the role of herbivores, and of wildlife in general, in the context of human perceptions and interactions with their environment. Human-environment interactions are both direct and indirect and pertain to a variety of social expressions. The relationship between humans and wildlife has economic, cultural, and psychological dimensions, which underscore the importance of these animals in a broader social, as well as ecological, context. Northern ecosystems such as the boreal forest are characterized by extreme seasonality and pronounced change in resource availability between summer and winter. Not surprisingly, these conditions are reflected in the population dynamics of the animals that inhabit these environments, particularly in smaller-bodied herbivores.

scholarly journals A Systematic Analysis of the Alpine Saxifrage Complex (Saxifragaceae) in the Canadian Arctic Islands Using Morphology and Chloroplast DNA Data

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Healy ◽  
Lynn J. Gillespie
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Site Analysis

The Saxifraga nivalis complex displays significant ecological, morphological and cytological variation. Most European studies suggest that the S. nivalis complex comprises two distinct species: Saxifraga nivalis sensu stricto and Saxifraga tenuis. However, the presence of intermediate morphotypes, inconsistencies in chromosomal counts and variability in morphological keys and descriptions have led to different taxonomic interpretations of the complex in North America. This study investigated the systematics of Canadian Arctic Island members of this complex from 157 specimens using 23 morphological characters. Principal component analysis of the morphological data revealed two adjacent clusters, corresponding to the two taxa and consistent with a close morphological similarity and the presence of hybrids. A preliminary restriction site analysis of five non-coding regions of the chloroplast genome, trnH-trnK, trnT-trnF, trnF-trnV, trnV-rbcL and rbcL-ORF106, was conducted using 21 restriction endonucleases. This analysis indicated a length difference between the trnT-trnF region of S. nivalis and that of S. tenuis, but no difference in restriction sites for any of the assayed regions. These results confirm that in the Canadian Arctic, the S. nivalis complex consists of two closely related, largely sympatric species, with notable morphological variability, and possible hybrids.

Coexistence of morphologically similar bats (Vespertilionidae) on Madagascar: stable isotopes reveal fine-grained niche differentiation among cryptic species

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Dammhahn ◽  
Claude Fabienne Rakotondramanana ◽  
Steven M. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Hair Samples

Abstract:Based on niche theory, closely related and morphologically similar species are not predicted to coexist due to overlap in resource and habitat use. Local assemblages of bats often contain cryptic taxa, which co-occur despite notable similarities in morphology and ecology. We measured in two different habitat types on Madagascar levels of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in hair (n = 103) and faeces (n = 57) of cryptic Vespertilionidae taxa to indirectly examine whether fine-grained trophic niche differentiation explains their coexistence. In the dry deciduous forest (Kirindy), six sympatric species ranged over 6.0‰ in δ15N, i.e. two trophic levels, and 4.2‰ in δ13C with a community mean of 11.3‰ in δ15N and −21.0‰ in δ13C. In the mesic forest (Antsahabe), three sympatric species ranged over one trophic level (δ15N: 2.4‰, δ13C: 1.0‰) with a community mean of 8.0‰ δ15N and −21.7‰ in δ13C. Multivariate analyses and residual permutation of Euclidian distances in δ13C–δ15N bi-plots revealed in both communities distinct stable isotope signatures and species separation for the hair samples among coexisting Vespertilionidae. Intraspecific variation in faecal and hair stable isotopes did not indicate that seasonal migration might relax competition and thereby facilitate the local co-occurrence of sympatric taxa.

scholarly journals Revision of the extinct Pleistocene tortoise Testudo lunellensis Almera and Bofill, 1903 from Cova de Gràcia (Barcelona, Spain)

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Delfino ◽  
Àngel H. Luján ◽  
Raül Carmona ◽  
David M. Alba
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Anterior Lobe ◽  
Shell Morphology ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Diagnostic Feature ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Mosaic Distribution

Testudo lunellensis Almera and Bofill, 1903 from the Middle Pleistocene of Cova de Gràcia (Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain) is a valid species belonging to the clade of the extant Testudo hermanni – a diagnostic feature being the narrowed vertebral scutes. Thanks to still unpublished material, T. lunellensis is diagnosed for the first time and its shell morphology described in detail. This species is uniquely characterized, among others, by tall peripheral bones and by a peculiar shape of the anterior lobe of the plastron, somewhat recalling the species referred to Testudo s.s. (the clade containing the extant species Testudo graeca, Testudo kleinmanni and Testudo marginata). Given that the purported valid species from Lunel-Viel (Middle Pleistocene, France) is still unnamed and undescribed, T. lunellensis from Cova de Gràcia is currently the stratigraphically youngest extinct Testudo species. The co-occurrence in T. lunellensis of characters typical of both T. hermanni and Testudo s.s. further testifies the phenotypic plasticity of tortoises and the mosaic distribution of morphological characters, which hinders a clear-cut assessment of the relationships of extant tortoises when based exclusively on morphology. Further analyses of the phylogeny of Testudo should consider fossil and extant taxa together, as well as both morphological and genetic characters.

A reassessment of the age of the fauna from Cumberland Bone Cave, Maryland, (middle Pleistocene) using coupled U-series and electron spin resonance dating (ESR)

2020 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 187-198
Author(s):  
Charles B. Withnell ◽  
Renaud Joannes-Boyau ◽  
Christopher J. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Electron Spin Resonance ◽  
Electron Spin ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Mammalian Fauna ◽  
Age Assessment ◽  
Spin Resonance ◽  
Complicated Model ◽  
Length Width ◽  
Age Estimates

AbstractThe deposits in Cumberland Bone Cave (Allegany County, Maryland) preserved one of the most taxonomically diverse pre-radiocarbon Pleistocene faunas in the northeastern United States. The site has long been recognized as an important record of Pleistocene life in the region, but numerical age control for the fauna was never developed, and hypotheses for its age have been based upon biochronological assessments of the mammalian fauna. We used fossil teeth and preserved sediment housed in museum collections to obtain the first numerical age assessment of the fauna from Cumberland Bone Cave. Coupled U-series Electron Spin Resonance (US-ESR) was used to date fossil molars of the extinct peccary, Platygonus sp. The age estimates of two teeth gave ages of 722 ± 64 and 790 ± 53 ka. Our results are supported by previously unpublished paleomagnetic data generated by the late John Guilday, and by plotting length-width of the first molar (m1) of Ondatra (muskrats) from Cumberland Bone Cave on the chronocline of Ondatra molar evolution in North America. Our age assessments are surprisingly close to the age estimate previously proposed by Charles Repenning, who based his age on a somewhat complicated model of speciation and morphotype evolution among arvicoline rodents.

scholarly journals Validating Morphometrics with DNA Barcoding to Reliably Separate Three Cryptic Species of Bombus Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Joan Milam ◽  
Dennis E. Johnson ◽  
Jeremy C. Andersen ◽  
Aliza B. Fassler ◽  
Desiree L. Narango ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cryptic Species ◽  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Hair Color ◽  
Width Ratio ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Morphometric Methods ◽  
The Status

Despite their large size and striking markings, the identification of bumble bees (Bombus spp.) is surprisingly difficult. This is particularly true for three North American sympatric species in the subgenus Pyrobombus that are often misidentified: B. sandersoni Franklin, B. vagans Smith B. perplexus Cresson. Traditionally, the identification of these cryptic species was based on observations of differences in hair coloration and pattern and qualitative comparisons of morphological characters including malar length. Unfortunately, these characteristics do not reliably separate these species. We present quantitative morphometric methods to separate these species based on the malar length to width ratio (MRL) and the ratios of the malar length to flagellar segments 1 (MR1) and 3 (MR3) for queens and workers, and validated our determinations based on DNA barcoding. All three measurements discriminated queens of B. sandersoni and B. vagans with 100% accuracy. For workers, we achieved 99% accuracy by combining both MR1 and MR3 measurements, and 100% accuracy differentiating workers using MRL. Moreover, measurements were highly repeatable within and among both experienced and inexperienced observers. Our results, validated by genetic evidence, demonstrate that malar measurements provide accurate identifications of B. vagans and B. sandersoni. There was considerable overlap in the measurements between B. perplexus and B. sandersoni. However, these species can usually be reliably separated by combining malar ratio measurements with other morphological features like hair color. The ability to identify bumble bees is key to monitoring the status and trends of their populations, and the methods we present here advance these efforts.

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