Importance of multi‐dimensional analyses of resource partitioning in highly mobile species assemblages

Abstract

Resource partitioning is an essential mechanism enabling species coexistence. The resources that are used by an animal are linked to its morphology and ecology. Therefore, similar species should use similar resources. The ecological niche of an individual summarizes all used resources and is therefore composed of several dimensions. Many methods are established to study different dimensions of an animal's niche. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that a combination of suitable methods is needed to study spatial and dietary resource partitioning of sympatric species in detail. We hypothesized that, while each individual method might identify differences between species, the combined results of several methods will lead to a more complete picture of spatial and dietary resource partitioning. As model organisms we chose the sympatric insectivorous bat species Myotis bechsteinii, M. nattereri, and P. auritus. We examined horizontal habitat use by telemetry, vertical habitat use by measuring d 13 C, trophic position by measuring d 15 N in wing membrane, and diet composition by molecular fecal analysis. Our results show that each method is able to provide information about spatial/dietary resource partitioning. However, considering further dimensions by combining several methods allows a more comprehensive assessment of dietary and spatial resource partitioning in bats.

Foraging niche segregation in Malaysian babblers (Family: Timaliidae)

“…The findings of the present study provide further support that vertical distribution is important in niche partitioning of bird species and probably led to sympatric babbler species assemblages. In addition, variation in the carbon isotope δ 13 C of insects between the upper and lower vegetation [ 56 ] indicated differences in insect distribution, thus we assumed different prey were taken by height-partitioned birds. Different forest strata may support different groups and distributions of insects [ 57 ].…”

Bats partition activity in space and time in a large, heterogeneous landscape

“…Previous work has demonstrated sympatric bat species partition space horizontally-at coarse (Arlettaz, 1999;Nicholls & Racey, 2006) and fine scales (Saunders & Barclay, 1992)and vertically (Kalcounis et al, 1999;Müller et al, 2013). Sympatric species also partition prey by size (Dodd et al, 2015), behavior (Mata et al, 2018), and taxa (Cravens et al, 2018;Whitaker, 2004), although spatial and dietary partitioning need not be mutually exclusive (Roswag et al, 2015;Saunders & Barclay, 1992).…”

Disparities in second‐generation DNA metabarcoding results exposed with accessible and repeatable workflows

“…Incorporating high-resolution diet data into larger ecological studies can provide fine-scale insights into ecological processes (Roswag et al, 2015), ultimately filling data gaps and leading to more informed conservation and management decisions (Cook, Hockings, & Carter, 2010). For broad incorporation of eDNA into environmental monitoring, workflows must be repeatable at the intralaboratory level and reproducible at the interlaboratory level (Darling & Mahon, 2011).…”

“…The rapidly advancing field of eDNA metabarcoding yields high-resolution data, can be noninvasive and has revolutionized our ability to differentiate interactions between trophic levels (Taberlet, Coissac, Pompanon, Brochmann, & Willerslev, 2012;Taberlet, Waits, & Luikart, 1999). Furthermore, when combined with ecological tools such as stable isotopes or radio telemetry, metabarcoding is a powerful tool for resource partitioning, providing highresolution data on a species' resource needs (Carreon-Martinez & Heath, 2010;Roswag, Becker, & Encarnacao, 2015). This added capability opens up new and important areas of ecological research for cryptic species (e.g., bats; Razgour et al, 2011).…”