Interspecific Resource Competition in Antelopes

Prins, Herbert H. T.

doi:10.1002/9781118409572.ch4

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Based on the high dietary overlaps alone, it is tempting to conclude that interspecific competition is unimportant to the insectivorous birds studied, with little impact on either individual fitness or population processes, at least during the chosen study seasons. However, using the framework proposed by Dhondt (2012) and Prins (2016), we instead found evidence for interspecific competition. Coupled with a knowledge of food limitation and intraspecific competition in Jamaica (conditions 1 and 2) and in conjunction with knowledge of resource depletion and population/fitness consequences (conditions 4 and 5), we thus conclude that Redstarts are probably engaged in ongoing interspecific competition in our two non‐breeding sites in addition to the shade coffee habitat studied by Sherry et al .…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

“…Overall, Redstarts overlapped regularly in resource use with a broad range of potential insectivorous avian competitors, and simultaneously showed modest resource specialization. The nature of this resource overlap, coupled with our review of past work on population‐level processes, provides compelling evidence that these interactions are routinely competitive (Dhondt 2012, Prins 2016). Past research has repeatedly shown that Redstarts, along with numerous other warblers, are food‐limited and compete intraspecifically for food, especially in the non‐breeding season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High resource overlap and small dietary differences are widespread in food‐limited warbler (Parulidae) communities

Kent

Huh

Hunter

et al. 2021

Ibis

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Although both interspecific competition and coexistence mechanisms are central to ecological and evolutionary theory, past empirical studies have generally focused on simple (two-species) communities over short time periods. Experimental tests of these species interactions are challenging in complex study systems. Moreover, several studies of 'imperfect generalists', consistent with Liem's Paradox, raise questions about the ability of evolved species differences to partition niche space effectively when resources vary considerably across the annual cycle. Here we used a recently developed theoretical framework to combine past research on population-level processes with observational data on resource use to test for ongoing interspecific competition and understand the nature of resource overlap. We compared species diet overlaps and differences in several distinctive communities centred on a focal species, the American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla replicated both spatially and seasonally, in combination with documentation of population regulation to assess the ability of similar species to partition dietary niche space and limit interspecific competition. Our results document high dietary overlap in most of the communities studied, with only subtle differentiation consistent with known species differences in foraging behaviour and morphology. These findings are largely consistent with species foraging as imperfect generalists. However, in contrast to past studies, the high diet overlaps observed here during times of inferred resource scarcity were driven by low-value prey taxa (e.g. small ants) and did not involve truly 'private' resources. All of these factors increase the potential negative impacts of interspecific competition, and limit the ability of these birds to avoid competition if food availability deteriorates further than observed in our study, either seasonally or at longer intervals.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High resource overlap and small dietary differences are widespread in food‐limited warbler (Parulidae) communities

Kent

Huh

Hunter

et al. 2021

Ibis

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“…It is also theoretically possible that the species under study do not compete, thus not needing to partition resources. However, the combination of known intraspecific competition and food limitation documented in some of these species supports ongoing interspecific competition (see Dhondt 2012, Prins 2016), as do past studies of competition in many of these warblers (e.g., Greenberg and Ortiz 1994, Sherry et al 2016 b ), necessitating some coexistence mechanism. Additionally, despite selecting a field site and sampling period to maximize niche partitioning and finding few high‐quality prey items in our samples of available prey, it is possible that in different years, under worse conditions, species could overlap less in diet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Behavioral niche partitioning reexamined: Do behavioral differences predict dietary differences in warblers?

Kent¹

2020

Ecology

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Behavioral niche partitioning is an important and widely assumed mechanism for the coexistence of ecologically similar species. Here we assessed this mechanism by testing its core assumption, that evolved differences in foraging behavior correspond with differences in resources consumed. We combined data on foraging behavior, available prey, and observed diets of five coexisting species of New World wood warblers (Parulidae), a system that has been foundational to our understanding of behavioral niche partitioning. Consistent with past work, we found that the five species differed markedly in their foraging behavior, enough that some species pairs hardly overlapped at all in foraging microhabitat. In contrast, the birds overlapped highly in diet, while exhibiting small, interpretable differences in resource use. The high overlap resulted mostly from all five species consuming numerous ants, a prey source that moves between microhabitats. To test the prediction that the large differences in foraging behavior explain the small dietary differences, we generated expected diets based on available prey and foraging microhabitat use. Consistent with niche partitioning as a coexistence mechanism, we found that the small dietary differences were explained by a combination of foraging microhabitat and available prey, but this pattern was driven by only a small number of prey taxa. Thus, we found mixed support for behavioral niche partitioning. Our results indicate that foraging behavior among these bird species helps explain subtle variation in diet, potentially facilitating coexistence. However, our results also revealed a weak relationship between foraging behavior and resource partitioning. Consequently, studies that rely solely on foraging behavior may greatly overestimate the degree of niche differentiation leading to erroneous conclusions. Overall, this study calls into question how and why these differences in foraging behavior evolved, and what role if any they play in facilitating coexistence.

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“…Time series and correlations (autocorrelation and cross‐correlation) are among the most adequate and efficient methods to use in case of competition/facilitation studies (Prins, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal patterns in natality and mortality of three threatened antelope species in North Africa: Oryx dammah, Addax nasomaculatus and Nanger dama

et al. 2019

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Long‐term population studies on large mammals are rare. Here, we have examined the threatened scimitar‐horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle's populations over the last 20 years in Bou Hedma National Park. Using monthly count data of the three studied species collected since 1995, we examined their population trends. Using autocorrelation analyses, we discovered endogenous natural cyclical fluctuations in the numbers of each species, with a periodicity of approximately 3 years. For all three studied species which seem to be opportunistic breeders, births and deaths occurred throughout the year, although with notable seasonality. By means of cross‐correlation, we discovered that during the first 7 years for which data were available, addax numbers were positively correlated with those of dama and inversely correlated with numbers of oryx. This pattern reversed during the following 4‐year period. The number of oryx was negatively correlated with dama during the first 4 years and then became positively correlated during the subsequent 7‐year period. Thus, we draw attention to difference in response to environmental and anthropogenic factors. Incorporating fundamental long‐term population data into developing management approaches, especially for potentially competitive species, is vital for their future long‐term survival and the success of conservation actions.

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Interspecific Resource Competition in Antelopes

Cited by 16 publications

References 83 publications

High resource overlap and small dietary differences are widespread in food‐limited warbler (Parulidae) communities

High resource overlap and small dietary differences are widespread in food‐limited warbler (Parulidae) communities

Behavioral niche partitioning reexamined: Do behavioral differences predict dietary differences in warblers?

Temporal patterns in natality and mortality of three threatened antelope species in North Africa: Oryx dammah, Addax nasomaculatus and Nanger dama

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