Weak niche partitioning by migrating shorebirds in a single-food-type environment

Novčić, Ivana

doi:10.1177/1758155919841279

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Our study is consistent with previous research that suggested that among-species dietary niches tended to overlap more during seasons of high food abundance [32,33,125,126]. Greater resource availability could promote an increase in species utilization of similar resources and reduce competitive interactions between species [32,34,126]. By contrast, during seasons with low food abundance, species may partition limited food resources to decrease interspecific competition, leading to a decrease in niche overlap [126,127].…”

Section: Effects Of Tuber Collapse On Dietary Niche Breadth and Overlap Among Crane Speciessupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The increased overlap may be related to the reduced competitive interaction between species due to great resource availability. For example, there was an absence of dietary niche partitioning among shorebird species at Delaware Bay, USA, when the density of their primary prey Horseshoe Crab eggs was high [ 34 ]. Extensive degree of dietary niche overlap has also been revealed among seabird species breeding on the Argentinean Patagonian coast with superabundance of pelagic fish [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influences of submerged plant collapse on diet composition, breadth, and overlap among four crane species at Poyang Lake, China

Hou

Wang

et al. 2021

Front Zool

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Background Interannual variation in resource abundance has become more unpredictable, and food shortages have increasingly occurred in the recent decades. However, compared to seasonal fluctuations in resource abundance, the influences of interannual variation in resource abundance on the dietary niches of consumers remain poorly understood. Poyang Lake, China, is a very important wintering ground for the globally endangered Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), White-naped Crane (Grus vipio), and Hooded Crane (G. monacha), as well as the non-endangered Eurasian Crane (G. grus). Tubers of Vallisneria spp., the dominant submerged macrophytes at Poyang Lake, is an important food for cranes. Nevertheless, submerged macrophytes have experienced serious degradation recently. In this study, we used metabarcoding technology to explore the consequences of Vallisneria tuber collapse on the diet compositions, breadths, and overlaps of the four crane species based on fecal samples collected in winter 2017 (a year with tuber collapse) and winter 2018 (a year with high tuber abundance). Results Compared to previous studies, our study elucidates crane diets in an unprecedented level of detail. Vallisneria tubers was confirmed as an important food source of cranes. Surprisingly, the grassland plant Polygonum criopolitanum was also found to be an important food source in the feces of cranes. Agricultural fields were important foraging sites for Siberian Cranes, White-naped Cranes, and Hooded Cranes, providing foods that allowed them to survive in winters with natural food shortages. However, the three crane species preferred natural wetlands to agricultural fields when the abundance of natural foods was high. The abundance of Vallisneria tubers, and probably P. criopolitanum, greatly influenced the dietary compositions, breadths and overlap of cranes. During periods of preferred resource shortage, White-naped Cranes and Hooded Cranes widened their dietary niches, while Siberian Cranes maintained a stable niche width. The dietary niche overlap among crane species increased substantially under conditions of plentiful preferred food resources. Conclusions Our study emphasizes the superior quality of natural wetlands compared to agricultural fields as foraging habitats for cranes. To provide safer and better foraging areas for cranes, it is urgent to restore the submerged plants at Poyang Lake. While high dietary niche overlap is often interpreted as intense interspecific competition, our study highlights the importance of taking food abundance into account.

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Section: Effects Of Tuber Collapse On Dietary Niche Breadth and Overlap Among Crane Speciessupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of submerged plant collapse on diet composition, breadth, and overlap among four crane species at Poyang Lake, China

Hou

Wang

et al. 2021

Front Zool

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“…Many species (11) in our data set use a mixed pecking-probing strategy, which means shifting from sight to touch organ for prey detection. Eye closure seems a good indicator of the preeminent use of touch sense over visual stimuli.…”

Section: Cranial System and Food Capturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A seminal interspecific comparative study introduced a classification of these foraging-feeding speciesspecific stereotyped behaviors [4]. This classification was subsequently used in numerous studies investigating the diet or the food acquisition behaviors of shorebirds (e.g., [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repertoire of Food Acquisition Behaviors in Shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiforme)

Baguette,

Hannier,

Kirchhoff

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Most studies on shorebird foraging ecology in recent decades have been extensively conducted on species that have used wetlands along the American Flyways (Faria et al, 2018;Martínez-Curci et al, 2015;Novcic, 2019) and the African-Eurasian Flyway (Bocher et al, 2014;Lourenço et al, 2016Lourenço et al, , 2017. Among these studies, several have aimed to investigate the role of resource niche partitioning as a mechanism that maintains the diversity and stable coexistence of shorebird species within their communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary diversity of multiple shorebird species in an Asian subtropical wetland unveiled by DNA metabarcoding

et al. 2022

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Global declines in shorebird populations resulting from foraging habitat loss have been recently reported, and the situation within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) is particularly concerning. Despite previous studies that analyzed the foraging niches of shorebirds worldwide, the dietary niche dynamics of shorebirds coexisting in Asia are very poorly understood. This study is therefore among the early few that aim to unveil the trophic organization of shorebirds in a subtropical wetland within the EAAF which is vital for species conservation. Our study first determined the dietary spectra of more than 10 shorebird species, such as Calidris ferruginea (near threatened), Charadrius leschenaultii, and Pluvialis squatarola, by applying DNA metabarcoding with 18S and COI markers to fecal DNA. The diet of Tringa stagnatilis was also characterized, which was previously undescribed. Shorebirds that occurred in the wetland consumed a variety of food items, primarily a high abundance of malacostracans, mollusks, annelids, insects, and some arachnids. Different proportions of plant materials were also detected in many shorebird species. Using the data, we then revealed clear patterns of inter-and intraspecific variations between these shorebirds. Importantly, we specifically compared the similarities of the spring diets among seven sympatric shorebird species. We found that the dietary compositions of the seven species have segregated from each other to varying levels, but the many similar taxa we identified in the diets among these shorebirds imply that these populations of shorebirds could be competing at different levels. Thus, any reductions in the abundance and diversity of these important food resources would likely intensify their inter-and intraspecific competition, and simultaneously threaten the survival of multiple species. With these findings, conservation measures must be taken to protect and monitor the vital food resources for these energy-deprived shorebirds during migration.

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Weak niche partitioning by migrating shorebirds in a single-food-type environment

Cited by 7 publications

References 55 publications

Influences of submerged plant collapse on diet composition, breadth, and overlap among four crane species at Poyang Lake, China

Influences of submerged plant collapse on diet composition, breadth, and overlap among four crane species at Poyang Lake, China

Repertoire of Food Acquisition Behaviors in Shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiforme)

Dietary diversity of multiple shorebird species in an Asian subtropical wetland unveiled by DNA metabarcoding

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