scholarly journals Three-dimensional niche partitioning between two colonially nesting ardeid species in central China

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanxing Ye ◽  
Canshi Hu ◽  
Yiting Jiang ◽  
Geoffrey W. H. Davison ◽  
Changqing Ding
Keyword(s):  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Central China ◽  
Paddy Fields ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Wetland Birds ◽  
Cattle Egret ◽  
River Banks

Abstract Background Interspecific competition is known to be strongest between those species that are both closely related and sympatric. Egrets are colonially nesting wetland birds that often overlap and can therefore be expected to compete in roosting and nesting habitat as well as in diet. According to the niche partitioning hypothesis, it is to be expected that these similar species would show differentiation in at least one of the main niche dimensions to reduce competition. We tested niche partitioning between the colonially nesting Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) in temporal, spatial and trophic dimensions. Methods Field study was conducted in three mixed egret colonies in Yangxian County, southwest Shaanxi Province, central China. For each nest colony we recorded its spatial location, the height of nesting trees and of nests, the height of roosting trees and of roosting individuals within the trees. We determined the first egg-laying and first hatching dates of the two species. Craw dissection of storm-killed egret nestlings was used to measure the diet. Six transects were surveyed to study foraging habitat selection. Results We found that hatching time of Little Egrets peaked earlier (by about 1 month) than that of Cattle Egrets. Cattle Egrets nested and roosted higher than Little Egrets. The foraging habitats used by Little Egrets were dominated by river banks (73.49%), followed by paddy fields (13.25%) and reservoirs (10.84%), whereas Cattle Egret foraging sites were characterized by grasslands (44.44%), paddy fields (33.33%) and river banks (22.22%). Little Egrets consumed more fishes (65.66%) and Odonata larvae (13.69%) than Cattle Egrets, while Cattle Egrets were found feeding mainly on Coleoptera (29.69%) and Orthoptera (23.29%). Little Egrets preyed on larger mean biomasses of food items than Cattle Egrets. Conclusions Our results confirm the niche partitioning hypothesis as a mechanism for coexistence among ecologically similar species. In two coexisting egret species, niche partitioning is multidimensional, such that the two coexistent species occupy differing ecological space based on all three temporal, spatial and trophic niche dimensions.

scholarly journals Trophic niche partitioning between two native and two exotic carnivores in SW Portugal

Web Ecology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Santos ◽  
B. M. Pinto ◽  
M. Santos-Reis
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Exclusion Principle ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Negative Effects

Abstract. The introduction of exotic species is one of the most pervasive consequences of the increased human mobility. The most known negative effects are the decrease or extinction of natives. The common-genet, Genetta genetta, and the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, were introduced in the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th and 19th centuries, respectively. The competitive exclusion principle defines that two ecologically similar species cannot coexist. Thus, some degree of partitioning has to occur in species realized niche, which can occur at the trophic level. To test this hypothesis of partitioning we compared the diet of these two exotic species with that of two native species (stone marten, Martes foina, and red fox, Vulpes vulpes). The results show a high degree of overlap (>45%) between the diets of species similar in their feeding strategies (arboreal and ground feeding). Nonetheless, at the finer scale of prey consumed at the species level some differences are found between the native and exotic species. These results suggest that if coexistence is due to trophic niche partitioning it only occurs at the level of the consumed species. However, coexistence may also be due to a combination of different strategies (home-range size, time and space use) that structured the different realized niches of each species.

SALVIA DAIGUII (LAMIACEAE): A NEW SPECIES FROM WEST HUNAN, CHINA

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. K. Wei ◽  
C. A. Pendry ◽  
D. G. Zhang ◽  
Y. B. Huang
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Central China ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Karst Region ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
A New Species

Salvia daiguii Y.K.Wei & Y.B.Huang, a new species from China, is described. Salvia daiguii belongs to Salvia subg. Glutinaria (Raf.) G.X.Hu, C.L.Xiang & B.T.Drew, sect. Sobiso (Raf.) G.X.Hu, A.Takano & B.T.Drew, and is distinguished from morphologically similar species by differences in its habit, leaves, inflorescences and flowers. It has a narrow distribution in a karst region of Yongding District, Hunan Province, central China. A key to the Chinese species of section Sobiso is also presented.

scholarly journals Perch Selection by Three Cooccurring Species ofCelithemis(Odonata: Libellulidae): Testing for a Competitive Hierarchy among Similar Species

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade B. Worthen ◽  
Parker H. Morrow
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Other ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Anatomical Characters ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Imagej Software

In many communities of perching dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), a size-dependent competitive hierarchy creates a positive relationship between male body size and perch height. We tested for this pattern among three similar-sized species:Celithemis elisa,C. fasciata, andC. ornata.Males were caught and photographed from May to July 2015 at Ashmore Heritage Preserve, Greenville County, SC, USA, and perch heights and perch distance to open water were measured. Five indices of body size were measured with ImageJ software: abdomen length, forewing length, hindwing length, area of forewing, and area of hindwing.Celithemis fasciatawas significantly larger than the other two species for all five anatomical characters and used perches that were significantly taller and closer to open water than the other species, though these differences changed over the summer. Aggressive interactions between and within species were tallied and compared to expected distributions based on mean relative abundances derived from hourly abundance counts. Patterns of interspecific aggression were also consistent with a size-dependent hierarchy: the largeC. fasciatawas attacked less frequently, and the smallC. ornatamore frequently, than predicted by their relative abundances. We conclude that even small differences in body size may contribute to niche partitioning in perch selection.

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.

Identification of trophic niches of subterranean diving beetles in a calcrete aquifer by DNA and stable isotope analyses

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa M. Bradford ◽  
William F. Humphreys ◽  
Andrew D. Austin ◽  
Steven J. B. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Coi Gene ◽  
Stable Isotope Analyses ◽  
Prey Preferences ◽  
Diving Beetles ◽  
Isotope Analyses

The Yilgarn calcrete aquifers in Western Australia are an interesting system for investigating the process of speciation within subterranean habitats, because of the limited opportunities for dispersal between isolated calcretes. The presence of different-sized diving beetles (Dytiscidae) in separate calcretes, including sympatric sister-species pairs, suggests that species may have evolved within calcretes by an adaptive shift as a result of ecological-niche differentiation. We have studied the potential for trophic niche partitioning in a sister triplet of diving beetles, of distinctly different sizes, from a single aquifer. Fragments of the mitochondrial COI gene, specific to known species of amphipods and copepods, were polymerase chain reaction-amplified from each of the three beetle species, indicating that there is an overlap in their prey items. Significant differences were found in the detected diets of the three species, and results showed a propensity for prey preferences of amphipods by the large beetles and one species of copepod for the small beetles. A terrestrial source of carbon to the calcrete was suggested by stable isotope analyses. The combined approach of molecular, stable isotope and behavioural studies have provided insight into the trophic ecology of this difficult-to-access environment, providing a framework for more fine-scale analyses of the diet of different-sized species to examine speciation underground.

Extramarital and Pair Copulations in the Cattle Egret

The Auk ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Fujioka ◽  
Satoshi Yamagishi
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Copulatory Behavior ◽  
Pair Bond ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Central Japan ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Cattle Egret ◽  
Bubulcus Ibis

Abstract The copulatory behavior of the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) was observed in a heronry in central Japan. In 38 of 147 extramarital copulation (EC) attempts with seven females, the males seemed in ejaculation. There were relatively few complete ECs prior to egg laying, because females responded aggressively to approaching males and because the mates of the females stayed in the territories for 78.8% of the time and protected the females. After egg laying, the aggressiveness of females against approaching males decreased and their mates spent more time outside the territories, resulting in an increase in the occurrence of complete ECs. Fighting males that were approaching a female exhibited a dominance hierarchy. The most dominant male stayed in the territory for the longest time and copulated most intensively with his mate and other neighboring females. Extramarital copulations are likely to occur in colonial herons, but mate-guarding by the male and aggression by the female mate enhance the probability that copulations will be performed only between members of the pair during the fertilizable period of the female. Thus, the monogamous pair bond is maintained.

scholarly journals Shimao and Erlitou: new perspectives on the origins of the bronze industry in central China

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (355) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rawson
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Central China ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Large Stone ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Bronze Casting

Over the last five years, excavation of a large, stone, fortified site at Shimao, on the northern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, China, has radically changed our understanding of the events that precipitated the development of the first bronze casting in central China at Erlitou (Figure 1). An international conference on the Shimao site, held at Shenmu in August 2016, explored many aspects of this major discovery.

PYRRHALTA VIBURNI (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE), A EURASIAN PEST OF VIBURNUM RECENTLY ESTABLISHED IN CANADA

1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Becker
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Viburnum Opulus ◽  
Pyrrhalta Viburni ◽  
First Time ◽  
Considerable Damage

AbstractPyrrhalta viburni (Paykull), a native of Eurasia, is reported for the first time as established in North America. In the Ottawa, Ont., area (including Hull, Que.) adults were very abundant and causing considerable damage to cultivated varieties of Viburnum opulus L. and moderate damage to the native V. Rafinesquianum Schultes. Photographs, a comparison with the similar species, P. luteola (Müller), and a brief note on egg laying are given.

scholarly journals Experience in Rearing Common Carder Bees (Bombus pascuorum Scop.), with Some Notes on Three Similar Species: Shrill Carder Bee (B. sylvarum L.), Red-shanked Carder Bee (B. ruderarius Müll.), and Brown-banded Carder Bee (B. humilis Ill.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1535-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimír Ptáček ◽  
Alena Votavová ◽  
Olga Komzáková
Keyword(s):  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Sugar Solution ◽  
Rearing Method ◽  
Small Plastic ◽  
Fresh Pollen ◽  
New Generation

The rearing method under controlled conditions known for Bombus terrestris was successful in initiating egg-laying for 83% of B. pascuorum queens. After larvae had hatched, fresh pollen pellets needed to be inserted into brood pockets daily. After the first workers had emerged, colony development was advanced by placing them outdoors and supplying them with a sugar solution and pollen. The bees were able to use tightly pressed pollen from small plastic pots inserted near the brood. This feeding resulted in large colonies that produced dozens of young queens. In contrast, colonies managed in the laboratory were unable to utilize pollen in a similar manner. They raised only a few workers and several queens. Mating young queens was easy. It was stimulated by daylight, but in the case of B. humilis by direct sunshine. Several B. pascuorum and B. sylvarum queens were overwintered and began the new generation under artificial conditions. However, a lack of fresh pollen limited the development of colonies outside of the vegetation period.

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