Increased density of conspecifics caused niche contraction in a multispecific passerine assemblage.

Jaccard similarity biotic interaction centroid distance competition ecological niche facilitation habitat use niche overlap resource partitioning species coexistence steppe birds

Journal

Ecology

ISSN: 1939-9170

Titre abrégé: Ecology

Pays: United States

ID NLM: 0043541

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
25 Mar 2024

Historique:

revised: 27 11 2023

received: 26 04 2023

accepted: 09 02 2024

medline: 26 3 2024

pubmed: 26 3 2024

entrez: 25 3 2024

Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

Competition is a prominent mechanism driving population dynamics and structuring community assemblage, which can be investigated by linking shifts in species' ecological niche and the densities of sympatric species because the ecological release from competitive constraints is a density-dependent process. In this work we determine how a steppe passerine community segregates their ecological niches and evaluate the role of competition in inducing changes in the ecological niche of species. We built multidimensional ecological niches (with Gaussian kernel density estimators) using data on the habitat features used by 10 bird species collected from seven sites in the natural steppes of Central Spain over 2 consecutive years. We computed distance and niche similarity metrics to explore the ecological niche partitioning of the bird community. Next, we ran multivariate linear regression models to evaluate the effects of conspecific and heterospecific density (as proxies of intraspecific and interspecific competition, respectively) on niche breadth and/or position of the three most abundant species. We found low niche overlap in the community assemblage but varying levels of niche similarity among pairs of species, which could increase the likelihood of current competition operating in the community. However, we found no effect of heterospecific density on niche breadth or position, although conspecific density was negatively related to niche breadth. Contrary to predictions of competition theory, increased density of conspecifics caused niche contraction. Our results from a multispecies system contribute to advanced knowledge of the biotic mechanisms structuring wildlife communities within the framework of ecological niche theory.

Identifiants

DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4296 PMID: 38527496

pubmed: 38527496

doi: 10.1002/ecy.4296

doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

Pagination

e4296

Subventions

Organisme : BBVA Foundation

ID : S2013/MAE2719

Organisme : Junta de Castilla y León and the European Union

ID : CLU-2019-01

Organisme : European Union

Organisme : LIFE

ID : LIFE15-NAT-ES-000802

Organisme : LIFE

ID : LIFE20-NAT/ES/000133

Informations de copyright

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