Locomotor correlates of ecomorph designation in Anolis: an examination of three sympatric species from Jamaica

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Lawrence Powell ◽  
Anthony P. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Greater Antilles ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Allometric Models ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Interspecific Differences

Scaling of locomotor structures (limb length, scansor area, and intergirdle distance) in three Jamaican Anolis species (A. garmani, A. grahami, and A. opalinus) is examined. Reference to structural-niche use patterns and partitionings typical of these three species is made. Each species represents a separate Anolis ecomorph, differing from the others in adult size, shape, and structural niche. All are part of a single intra-island phyletic radiation. Allometric models indicate that intra- and inter-specific differences in proportion of locomotor structures are not necessarily ontogenetically invariant, but that all three species ontogenetically arrive at, or have attained, the differences in proportion typical of their adult sizes. Differences in adult proportion between two species are not functions of body size alone but are the products of different scaling trajectories. No intraspecific differences in structural-niche use are documented, but interspecific differences are well defined: the greater the number of differences in locomotor scaling between two species, the greater the structural-niche partitioning. We suggest that the locomotor structure scaling patterns observed in these three species are typical of the ecomorphs that they represent. Analogous ontogenetic patterns of development should be displayed by independently derived representatives of these ecomorphs from other Greater Antilles islands.

scholarly journals Arthropod Resource Partitioning Among Omnivorous Tanagers (Tangara SPP.) in Western Ecuador

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuya Naoki
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Fruit Species ◽  
Mixed Species Flocks ◽  
Different Characteristics

Abstract The distribution and abundance of food are primary factors affecting resource-use patterns in birds. Many bird species eat several food types, which may differ in their distribution and overall abundance. I studied foraging ecology of seven sympatric species of Tangara at Mindo, Ecuador, to determine whether the patterns of resource use differed between two food types: arthropods and fruits. Interspecific differences in arthropod-foraging were manifested in the fine segregation of microhabitat preference combined with different habitat use. By contrast, interspecific differences in fruit-foraging were manifested in preferences for different plant genera, often associated with different habitats. No evidence was found for spatial partitioning of the same fruit species. Interspecific overlap in fruit-for- aging was 3× higher than that in arthropod-foraging, and species of Tangara that frequently joined the same mixed-species flocks differed largely in arthropod-foraging but overlapped greatly in fruit-foraging. The differences in patterns between arthropod and fruit-foraging may be explained by the different characteristics of arthropods and fruits as food resources. High sympatry of species of Tangara and other omnivorous tanagers, in general, appears to be maintained not because fruits are abundant, resulting in little competition for them, but because these tanagers specialize on different microhabitats for foraging arthropods. Segregación de Artrópodos como Recurso Alimenticio de Tangaras Omnívoras (Tangara spp.) en el Oeste de Ecuador

Allometry and Paleoecology of Medial Miocene Dwarf Rhinoceroses from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain

Paleobiology ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Prothero ◽  
Paul C. Sereno
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Gulf Coastal Plain ◽  
Canine Tooth ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Mammalian Faunas ◽  
The Common ◽  
Limb Proportions

Barstovian (medial Miocene) mammalian faunas from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain contained four apparently sympatric species of rhinoceroses: the common forms Aphelops megalodus and Teleoceras medicornutus, a dwarf Teleoceras, and a dwarf Peraceras. Previous work has suggested positive allometry in tooth area with respect to body size in several groups of mammals, i.e., larger mammals have relatively more tooth area. However, dwarfing lineages were shown to have relatively more tooth area for their body size. Our data show no significant allometry in post-canine tooth area of either artiodactyls or ceratomorphs. Similarly, dwarf rhinoceroses and hippopotami show no more tooth area than would be predicted for their size. Limbs are proportionately longer and more robust in larger living ceratomorphs (rhinos and tapirs) than predicted by previous authors. Limb proportions of both dwarf rhinoceroses and dwarf hippopotami are even more robust than in their living relatives.The high rhinoceros diversity reflects the overall high diversity of Barstovian faunas from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain. The first appearance of several High Plains mammals in these faunas indicates “ecotone”-like conditions as faunal composition changed. Study of living continental dwarfs shows that there is commonly an ecological separation between browsing forest dwarfs and their larger forebears, which are frequently savannah grazers. This suggests that the dwarf rhinoceroses might have been forest browsers which were sympatric with the larger grazing rhinos of the High Plains during the Barstovian invasion. The continental dwarf model also suggests that insular dwarfism may be explained by the browsing food resources that predominate on islands.

scholarly journals The isotopic niche of Atlantic, biting marine mammals and its relationship to skull morphology and body size

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Drago ◽  
Marco Signaroli ◽  
Meica Valdivia ◽  
Enrique M. González ◽  
Asunción Borrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management

AbstractUnderstanding the trophic niches of marine apex predators is necessary to understand interactions between species and to achieve sustainable, ecosystem-based fisheries management. Here, we review the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for biting marine mammals inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean to test the hypothesis that the relative position of each species within the isospace is rather invariant and that common and predictable patterns of resource partitioning exists because of constrains imposed by body size and skull morphology. Furthermore, we analyze in detail two species-rich communities to test the hypotheses that marine mammals are gape limited and that trophic position increases with gape size. The isotopic niches of species were highly consistent across regions and the topology of the community within the isospace was well conserved across the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, pinnipeds exhibited a much lower diversity of isotopic niches than odontocetes. Results also revealed body size as a poor predictor of the isotopic niche, a modest role of skull morphology in determining it, no evidence of gape limitation and little overlap in the isotopic niche of sympatric species. The overall evidence suggests limited trophic flexibility for most species and low ecological redundancy, which should be considered for ecosystem-based fisheries management.

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 Morphological determinants of jumping performance in the Iberian green frog

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Abelardo Requena-Blanco ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Mar Comas ◽  
Guillem Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Hind Limbs ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Pelophylax Perezi

Abstract Predation is one of the main selective forces in nature, frequently selecting potential prey for developing escape strategies. Escape ability is typically influenced by several morphological parameters, such as morphology of the locomotor appendices, muscular capacity, body mass, or fluctuating asymmetry, and may differ between sexes and age classes. In this study, we tested the relationship among these variables and jumping performance in 712 Iberian green frogs Pelophylax perezi from an urban population. The results suggest that the main determinant of jumping capacity was body size (explaining 48% of variance). Larger frogs jumped farther, but jumping performance reached an asymptote for the largest frogs. Once controlled by structural body size, the heaviest frogs jumped shorter distances, suggesting a trade-off between fat storage and jumping performance. Relative hind limb length also determined a small but significant percentage of variance (2.4%) in jumping performance—that is, the longer the hind limbs, the greater the jumping capacity. Juveniles had relatively shorter and less muscular hind limbs than adults (for a given body size), and their jumping performance was poorer. In our study population, the hind limbs of the frogs were very symmetrical, and we found no effect of fluctuating asymmetry on jumping performance. Therefore, our study provides evidence that jumping performance in frogs is not only affected by body size, but also by body mass and hind limb length, and differ between age classes.

scholarly journals Age of maturation and behavioral tactics in male yellow ground squirrel Spermophilus fulvus during mating season

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 700-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina A. Vasilieva ◽  
Ekaterina V. Pavlova ◽  
Sergey V. Naidenko ◽  
Andrey V. Tchabovsky
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Mating Season ◽  
Active Season ◽  
Good Physical Condition

Abstract Life-history theory predicts that in hibernators age of maturation is related positively to body size and negatively to the duration of active season aboveground. Yellow souslik is a large-sized ground squirrel with long hibernation, which suggests late maturation. We used four-year field observations of marked individuals to determine the age of maturation in males through analysis of age-dependent variation in body size, mass, androgen status, timing of spring emergence, ranging patterns and social behavior during the mating season. Yearling males were smaller, lighter, had lower level of fecal testosterone, emerged later and had smaller home ranges than older males. Social activity and the number of females encountered did not differ between age classes. After the second hibernation none of the studied parameters varied with age. Cluster analysis revealed two behavioral tactics: “active” males (adults only) emerged earlier, ranged more widely, initiated more contacts, encountered more females and were heavier than “passive” males (both yearling and adult). Thus, males of S. fulvus reached adult size and matured after two hibernations, which is relatively fast for such a big species with short active period. Indirect evidence for copulations and high variation among yearlings in all parameters suggest that some of them might successfully compete with adults. Active tactic of wandering and searching for females is energetically costly, and probably only adult males in good physical condition can afford it, whereas passive tactic of residing is energy saving and good for adults in poor condition and for yearlings that are continuing to grow.

Endogenous biomarkers reveal diet partitioning among three sympatric species of swallows

The Auk ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaelyn H Bumelis ◽  
Michael D Cadman ◽  
Keith A Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Aerial Insectivores ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Δ 15N

Abstract Since the early 1990s, aerial insectivorous birds have shown serious population declines in North America, but it is not clear if factors common to all species within this guild account for these declines. Among sympatric swallows, population trends differ, and this may be due to differences in ecology operating throughout the annual cycle. Although these species all feed on aerial insects, prey taxa can differ tremendously in their “aeroecology” and use by swallows. We examined the potential for dietary differences among three species of swallows, Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), and Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), breeding sympatrically in southern Ontario, Canada. Potential interspecific differences in nestling diet were examined using two endogenous biomarkers, DNA barcoding of nestling feces and stable isotope analysis (δ 2H, δ 13C, δ 15N) of nestling feathers. We found evidence for differences in dietary sources of provisioned young where Barn Swallows provisioned more terrestrial-based prey, Cliff Swallows provisioned an intermediate diet, and Tree Swallows the most aquatic-emergent insect diet. We suggest this information may help to identify potential factors contributing to differential declines of aerial insectivores operating on the breeding grounds, including diet quality.

Geographical variability of Lepyronia coleoptrata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea) across Russia

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4543 (3) ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
DMITRI YU. TISHECHKIN
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Geographical Variability ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
The Far East ◽  
Male Calling ◽  
Far Eastern ◽  
The Russian Far East

Comparative analysis of body size, coloration, penis shape, and male calling signals of Lepyronia coleoptrata from different localities in European Russia, Northern Kazakhstan, Siberia, and the Russian Far East showed that all populations studied belong to the same species. A clear boundary between European and the Far-Eastern subspecies can only be drawn based on body size and proportions. Light coloration is typical of European populations; on the contrary, in the Far East only dark specimens occur, but in Siberia a mixture of different forms presents. Penis shape and male calling signal pattern do not demonstrate geographical variability. The range of intraspecific variability of these traits is far less than interspecific differences between L. coleoptrata, L. koreana, and L. okadae. 

Another new, diminutive Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis Strauch) from Peninsular Malaysia and a discussion of resource partitioning in sympatric species pairs

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2569 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. LEE GRISMER ◽  
CHAN KIN ONN ◽  
EVAN QUAH ◽  
MOHD ABDUL MUIN ◽  
ANNA E. SAVAGE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Species Pairs

A new, diminutive species of Rock Gecko, Cnemaspis shahruli sp. nov. from Penang Island, Penang; Pulau Jerejak, Penang; Pulau Pangkor, Perak; and the adjacent mainland at Sungai Sedim, Kedah was previously confused with juveniles of the sympatric, endemic species C. affinis (Stoliczka) on Penang Island. Cnemaspis shahruli sp. nov. is diagnosed from all other Southeast Asian Cnemaspis on the basis of several unique aspects of squamation, coloration, and body size. It is proposed that this new species has a more extensive mainland distribution than is presented here based on its southernmost record on Pulau Pangkor, Perak. A pattern of resource partitioning on the basis of body size, habitat, and activity period among sympatric species pairs of Cnemaspis is discussed.

Phylogenetic patterns and ontogenetic origins of limb length variation in ecologically diverse lacertine lizards

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo A Cordero ◽  
Anastasiia Maliuk ◽  
Xenia Schlindwein ◽  
Ingmar Werneburg ◽  
Oleksandr Yaryhin
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Habitat Specialization ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Adaptive Diversification ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Extant Species

Abstract Limb length is intrinsically linked to function and, ultimately, fitness. Thus, it can co-evolve with habitat structure, as exemplified by tropical lizards in highly heterogeneous environments. But does lizard limb length respond in a similar manner during adaptive diversification in temperate zones? Here, we examine variation in habitat preference and limb length in lacertine lizards from the Palaearctic. We tested the following three hypotheses: (1) species of the Lacertini tribe descended from a generalist ancestor and subsequently underwent habitat specialization; (2) specialized ecological roles are associated with relative limb length in extant species; and (3) interspecific differences in limb length emerge in embryonic development. Our comparisons supported an ancestral ‘rocky’ or ‘generalist’ habitat preference, and phenotype–habitat associations were particularly supported when examining size-adjusted forelimb length in 69 species that represented all known Lacertini genera. Moreover, we revealed an elevated interlimb ratio in high-vegetation species, which might be linked to climbing performance in species with relatively longer forelimbs. Furthermore, embryonic limb variation was detected solely against an Eremiadini outgroup species. Instead, hind limb length differences within Lacertini originated in post-hatching ontogeny. The mechanisms that modulate limb growth are likely to be limited in Lacertini, because adaptive morphological change might mirror historical contingency and the ecological context wherein this clade diversified.

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