Resource partitioning by two syntopic sister species of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae)

Liedke, Ana M. R.; Bonaldo, Roberta M.; Segal, Bárbara; Ferreira, Carlos E. L.; Nunes, Lucas T.; Burigo, Ana P.; Buck, Sonia; Oliveira‐Santos, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues; Floeter, Sergio R.

doi:10.1017/s0025315417001321

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The findings indicated that food item partitioning occurs among the four study species, with S. unimaculatus , S. virgatus , and S. puellus in particular showing clear differences in the food items taken without any evidence of habitat partitioning. Such food item partitioning among species of the same genus has also been found in other families (Nanami & Shimose, 2013; Brandl, William & Bellwood, 2015; Liedke et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Several studies have also demonstrated that species-specific food item and foraging substrate (i.e., feeding microhabitat) partitioning enable the coexistence of diverse fish species in the absence of distinct habitat partitioning (Gradfelter & Johnson, 1983; Bouchon-Navaro, 1986; Pratchett, 2005; Liedke et al, 2017). In some cases, the morphological characteristics of a species (e.g., body shape, dentition type, and jaw-lever mechanics) affect this partitioning among syntopic species (Carpenter, 1996; Nanami & Shimose, 2013; Brandl, William & Bellwood, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial distributions, feeding ecologies, and behavioral interactions of four rabbitfish species (Siganus unimaculatus, S. virgatus, S. corallinus, and S. puellus)

Nanami

2018

PeerJ

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Clarifying the underlying mechanisms that enable closely related species to coexist in a particular environment is a fundamental aspect of ecology. Coral reefs support a high diversity of marine organisms, among which rabbitfishes (family Siganidae) are a major component The present study aimed to reveal the mechanism that allows rabbitfishes to coexist on coral reefs in Okinawa, Japan, by investigating the spatial distributions, feeding ecologies, and behavioral interactions of four species: Siganus unimaculatus, S. virgatus, S. corallinus, and S. puellus. All four species had a size-specific spatial distribution, whereby small individuals were found in sheltered areas that were covered by branching and bottlebrush Acropora spp. and large individuals were found in both sheltered and exposed rocky areas. However, no clear species-specific spatial distribution was observed. There was some variation in the food items taken, with S. unimaculatus primarily feeding on brown foliose algae, red foliose algae, and red styloid algae, and S. virgatus and S. puellus preferring brown foliose algae and sponges, respectively. However, S. corallinus did not show any clear differences in food preferences from S. virgatus or S. unimaculatus, mainly feeding on brown foliose algae and red styloid algae. The four species exhibited differences in foraging substrate use, which was probably related to differences in their body shape characteristics: S. unimaculatus has a slender body with a remarkably protruding snout and mainly used concave substrates for feeding, whereas S. virgatus has a deeper body with a low degree of snout protrusion and mainly used convex substrates. The other two species have a low degree of snout protrusion combined with a deeper body in the case of S. corallinus and a slender body in the case of S. puellus and used concave, flat, and convex substrates to an equal degree for feeding. Behavioral interactions were categorized into “agonistic behaviors” (attack and agonistic displays) and “no interactions.” For all four species, a greater frequency of agonistic behaviors was observed when two conspecific pairs approached each other than when two heterospecific individuals encountered each other. Together, these results suggest that food item partitioning is one of the main factors enabling the coexistence of these four syntopic rabbitfish species, which is enhanced by species-specific differences in feeding substrates as a result of their different body shape and behavioral characteristics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distributions, feeding ecologies, and behavioral interactions of four rabbitfish species (Siganus unimaculatus, S. virgatus, S. corallinus, and S. puellus)

Nanami

2018

PeerJ

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“…Butterflyfish food choices provide an intriguing contrast to the similar sets of species eaten by congeneric spongivores, as their foraging patterns have often demonstrated resource partitioning among closely related species, especially in the highly diverse tropical western Pacific fauna (Lawton et al 2012, Pratchett 2014, Slattery and Gochfeld 2016). Resource partitioning was also demonstrated for two congeneric Caribbean butterflyfishes (Liedke et al 2018), while another pair of Caribbean congeners was shown to differ in ways reminiscent of the differences between sponge‐feeding by angelfishes vs. parrotfishes, with one species, Chaetodon capistratus , actively broadening its diet and the congeneric C. aculeatus feeding selectively on relatively hidden prey (Birkeland and Neddeker 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Targeted predator defenses of sponges shape community organization and tropical marine ecosystem function

Wulff

2021

Ecological Monographs

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Defenses that target particular consumers often influence community organization, ecosystem function, and diversity maintenance. In coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems, sponges affect substratum stability, water clarity, diversity of associated species, and survival of habitat-providing organisms, key roles not duplicated by other organisms. Whether and how predators control sponges are much disputed. Substantial ecosystem consequences of losing or gaining sponges motivated definitive experiments on how predators control sponge distribution and abundance. Caribbean sponges of 94 species representing 13 taxonomic orders and three linked habitats (coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass meadows) were exposed to seven predator species representing different habitats and degrees of spongivory in 4,493 in situ trials. The resulting data force reassessment of popular interpretations of several patterns and processes. Contrary to extract pellet assays that declare most sponges deterrent, 78% of these 94 species were eaten by at least one predator. But "palatability" is consumer dependent: a sponge species eaten by one predator can be rejected by other predators, and predator species differed in what sponges they ate in 55.4% (214/392) of pairwise comparisons between predators. Because spongivore species are usually restricted to particular habitats, they impose abrupt boundaries on sponges' habitat distributions, reflecting inverse relationships between accessibility and palatability to each predator. Thus a seagrass-dwelling starfish eats only 9% of seagrass sponge species, but 70% of coral reef species, and 78% of mangrove species. Reef-dwelling angelfishes completely consume only 13% of reef species, but 29% of seagrass species, and 63% of mangrove species. Defenses that target specific predators reveal that spongivore influence on community organization cannot be inferred from extract pellet/ omnivore assays that assume defenses target all predators equally. In fact, pellet data wrongly predicted actual consumption of living sponges of that pellet's species in 43% of field experiments with spongivores. In contrast with herbivore-plant interactions, opportunistic spongivory is at least as important as routine spongivory for community organization and ecosystem function. Potential for loss of key functional roles of sponges, if opportunistic predators gain access to sponge species that lack defenses against them, must inform conservation plans for coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems.

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“…The response variable is the presence of the bird in the perch (1 = used perch / 0 = unused perch). This way, with CLR we model the probability of a bird selecting a perch in relation with other available perches depending on the effect of the explicative variables (artificial/natural perch, height, distance to water and vegetation cover) in the same probabilistic process (Liedke et al 2018. We used the function clogit of the package 'survival' (Therneau 2015) of R (R Core Team 2018).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perch selection of three species of kingfishers at the Pantanal wetland, Brazil

Peinado

Ortega

2020

Preprint

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Animal movement and behavior depend on the distribution of resources on the habitat. Therefore, individual animals are constantly making decisions on resource selection based on different attributes of the resource or its associated environmental variables. For fish-eating birds as kingfishers, selecting a suitable perch can report many benefits, as improving fishing success or reducing predation risk. Nowadays, not only natural structures, as branches, are available for birds to perch but also artificial ones, as electric lines. Thus, we aimed to understand which variables drive kingfishers perch selection, including the potential effect of its anthropic origin. We studied perch selection of three species of kingfishers inhabiting the Pantanal of Miranda of Brazil: Megaceryle torquata, Chloroceryle amazona and Chloroceryle americana. They feed in temporary ponds that are rich in trophic resources, where they have both natural and artificial potential perches. We hypothesized that artificial perches could be strongly selected, as they are more stable than natural ones and go through the ponds, providing a long surface to select optimal conditions. We assessed how kingfishers are selecting perches based on four ecologically relevant traits: (1) being artificial or natural, (2) perch height, (3) distance to the water, and (4) plant cover. We used a resource selection function (RSF) approach to quantify the effect of these variables in the probability of presence of kingfishers. The artificial origin of a perch was independent of the probability of selection for the three species. Furthermore, birds acted randomly to the other studied variables, except for individuals of C. amazona, which select higher perches, above 3.20 m. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding the behavioral ecology and use of space of neotropical kingfishers, and how this affects their vulnerability to human habitat alterations.

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Resource partitioning by two syntopic sister species of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae)

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Spatial distributions, feeding ecologies, and behavioral interactions of four rabbitfish species (Siganus unimaculatus, S. virgatus, S. corallinus, and S. puellus)

Spatial distributions, feeding ecologies, and behavioral interactions of four rabbitfish species (Siganus unimaculatus, S. virgatus, S. corallinus, and S. puellus)

Targeted predator defenses of sponges shape community organization and tropical marine ecosystem function

Perch selection of three species of kingfishers at the Pantanal wetland, Brazil

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